Mobile Suit Gundam Tekketsu no Kyojin (DISCONTINUED)
by Stryker Alexander J
Summary: This story has been discontinued. There is a Remastered Version on my profile, but you can still read this one if you wish to
1. That Faithful Day

**Oh dear me. My first story is getting overhauled. That's a new thing.**

 **So yes, welcome dear viewer of Mobile Suit Gundam; Tekkatsu No Kyojin!**

 **This is technically my first story on a fanfic site. But I rewrote so many things that I don't know if this is can even be considered a 'first'. If you think about it, the amount of times I rewrote all this, I think I can write seven short stories :v**

 **But whatever, I'm rambling on. Let's get this story moving. A few notes down below.**

 **Also, it's best if you watched Iron Blooded Orphans Ep 1-25 for better context.**

* * *

 **Edmonton**

In the impressive town of Edmonton(I presume it looks impressive anyways. It looks quaint. Never been there…) to be in, either as a tourist or as a normal visit. I mean, the Capital of Alberta would most likely draw many visitors. Most likely… probably? I dunno…

But strangely, the roads and sidewalks of Edmonton were eerily deserted. No one was even seen on the streets of the place. And for good reason too.

Days prior, the news outlets of Edmonton reported that the newly formed 'Mercenary Organization' known as Tekkadan were on their way here, escorting the Maiden of Revolution known as _Kudelia Aina Bernstein_ , a blonde teenager who was tall (and thicc) with blue eyes and _extremely_ long hair.

And speaking of the devil (or Maiden, if you wanna be specific), a Mobile Worker came roaring down the desolate streets of Edmonton, accompanied by a hijacked Gjallarhorn MW and a jeep which was on their tail.

Within the MW up front was piloted by Takaki Uno, a blonde Tekkadan mechanic, with Tekkadan leader Orga Itsuka, a tanned boy with a scar of unknown origin, and the maiden whom I just spoke of. The hijacked MW was piloted by some random person whom was not named… poor sod.

They were only in here thanks to their mobile suits, the _Barbatos_ , _Gusion Rebake_ , _Ryusei Go_ , and twin _Roueis_ who held the line as they delivered Kudelia. Of course, it wasn't all thanks to their Mobile Suits. It was also thanks to the missile launcher equipped Mobile Worker squad, who helped them break into Edmonton.

Inside the jeep was the aforementioned Kudelia Aine Bernstein, alongside the former Prime Minister of Edmonton, _Togonosuke Makanai_ , who has the dumbest awesome name ever, alongside the most badass beard I've seen in a long time, and the Goddess herself, _Atra Mixta_ , chef of Tekkadan.

And if you don't agree, get out. Atra is literally God in human form. That adorable pink haired girl is literally the best waifu (to me anyways. If you like Kudelia, then you do you).

Back on topic, the trio of Tekkadan vehicles, or two Tekka-cars and one hijacked Gjallarhorn MW, tore through the streets of Edmonton, ignoring the protests of the soldiers there. Smiling, Orga gave a relieved sigh.

' _Perhaps things will go smoother from here on…'_ thought the boy, before Takaki snapped him out of it,

"Orga!" he exclaimed. "I lost communications with the others! All comm-lines are down… only LCS is active!"

From up back, Atra had no clue what was going on, though Orga, on the other hand, did. Or at least had an idea of what was going on.

"You gotta be kidding me…" said Orga, lifting the hatch of his MW up and looking out, only to widen his eyes when he spotted a figure coming down from up top. "They're allowing _Mobile Suits_ into the city?!"

And right as he said that, a massive 22.2 metre Mobile Suit came crashing down between the Tekkadan and Gjallarhorn Mobile workers. More specifically, it crashed behind the Tekka-Worker and in front of both the Gjallarhorn MW and jeep.

The impact sent the Tekka-Worker forward, with the other two being sent back. Hell, the jeep overturned.

Groaning from inside his Mobile Worker, Orga slowly got out of it, and found himself facing the back of a Gjallarhorn MS. It was an odd one, lengthier than your usual EB-06 unit. And in some sort of purple colour.

Around it, the dust began to clear, and it began to speak in an oddly familiar voice.

"That's right… I remember now," it said, sounding resentful of itself. "I'm sorry, Lieutenant Crank (or Cranknee if you follow the Japanese dub too much). I was supposed to obey your orders… and capture Kudelia Aina Bernstein!"

Grumbling to himself, Orga wondered how he'd get them out of _this_ mess, right before he heard Miss Kudelia herself.

"I am Kudelia Aina Bernstein!" she exclaimed at the massive mech, with little to no trace of fear in her voice. "Is there something you want with me?"

"So you were here all along..." it said, voice filled with hatred. Its head turned to face her before splitting open, exposing a mono-eye, though unlike a normal Graze's, it was blood red. "I went to collect you at CGS..."

"That idiot…" grumbled Orga as he got out of his MW. While he admired the girl's courage, he found it to oftentimes be misplaced. Sure, you could be courageous, though it'd be better if you used your brain as you did. "Takaki, get ready."

"Yes sir!"

"If you had come with us, Lieutenant Crank wouldn't have died, besides..." as the massive Graze kept talking, Atra began crawling out of her upturned jeep. As she did, the Gjallahorn Mobile Worker aimed its cannon at the Mech.

"Create an opening where she can escape," said the pilot as he aimed the Worker's cannon at the mech, and right when he had it in his sights, a vulcan gun flipped down from the Mech's shoulder pad and blasted it. The Worker blew up, killing its occupant.

Whirling around in shock, Kudelia gasped as she realized that another one of her escorts had perished. But the MS, on the other hand/manipulator, didn't care for it. "Lieutenant Crank would not have died… if not for _you_."

"Because of my actions!" exclaimed Kudelia, effectively cutting off the Graze unit as she whirled around to face it. "Many lives have been lost." unbeknownst to her, as she said this, Atra made a mad dash for her, as did Orga. "That's why I can't stop now!"

"That ego..." said the Graze, voice dripping with venom as it raised one of its axes. "I will

teach you!"

And once it was raised, Kudelia saw Atra whirl around and tackle her back whilst screaming her name.

Yet, in the one and a half seconds before they hit the ground, they heard the sound of seven thrusters coming their way, and by the time we hit half a second, all they saw was a white figure coming up to the Graze and deflecting its strike, something which kicked up a ton of dust and knocked Kudelia and Atra back even more.

Groaning softly, with the lil girl Atra atop her, Kudelia slowly opened her eyes who were closed thanks to the dust. And after some time, she realized that she was atop Orga, who managed to get under her… somehow.

Yet despite his sore feeling, Orga managed a smile as he spotted the white figure through the dust.

"I knew you wouldn't let us die in a place like this…" he said proudly as the dust parted to reveal the Gundam Barbatos Form 6, using it's _Wrench Mace_ to block the axe of the Graze.

As for Kudelia, she was wide eyed and gaping. Mikazuki Augus, the boy saved her… again. And Atra, who had gotten off Kudelia, simply smiled. She knew Mika wouldn't let any of them die, not here. Not by the enemy's hand.

Standing its ground against the Graze, the Barbatos' leg units were slowly bending, mainly because the larger MS was much stronger. Despite this, it held it's ground as best as it could.

Currently, it was missing the left 'horn', thanks to the Kimaris Trooper, and had some battle scars though it wasn't much of a biggy compared to what it went through with Lafter.

Within the cockpit, however, the pilot, the aforementioned Mikazuki Augus slowly looked up, his face devoid of any real emotion.

"Let's do this," started Mika as he psyched himself up for a battle. "Barbatos…"

And in response, the Barbatos' optics blazed a glorious light green, signifying that it was ready.

And unfortunately for him, so was the Graze, who's optic seemed to glow a darker shade of red.

"It's _YOU_ ," muttered the pilot of the Graze. "The sinful child who killed Lieutenant Crank!"

"Who's that?" asked a genuinely confused Mika, which made the Graze roar in anger. Raising its left servo, the thing attempted to strike him, though Mika simply raised the right unit up to stop the arm. "Oi, don't move."

And, admittedly, I did chuckle at that.

Anyhoo, as he held it back, the Graze kept pushing his MS back, sinking the feet units of the Barbatos deeper into the ground.

"Unbelievable…" said the occupant of the Graze, pushing the Barbatos back some more. "At this rate… your sins will only keep growing!"

Grumbling as he held the arm controllers firmly, Augus was wondering how he'd down this one without accidentally injuring/killing his comrades by accident.

Thankfully, the second half of his worried were voided when the LCS came on, with Orga's voice speaking to him.

"I'm sorry, Mika!" he exclaimed. "But we don't have much time left before this election! We're making a break for the Parliament! In the meantime, we'll leave this goon to you!"

With his friends out of the picture, Mika flashed a grin, something rare for him, before swiveling the Barbatos' land boosters up.

"Understood," acknowledged Mika as the thrusters powered up. "Let's do this, Barbatos."

With that, the Gundam Frame blasted forward, pushing the Graze back. Stopping abruptly and letting the Graze frame fall back thanks to momentum, Mika used that time to land a kick onto it's spine region and slamming the Wrench onto it.

Though, to his surprise, the Graze unit managed to block the downswing with _one axe wielding arm unit_ while it was still bent back from the kick. And like the Slenderman, it straightened itself up as though it had no frame and it's one red optic glared at the Barbatos.

"Lieutenant Crank… at this rate…" said the pilot of the Graze. "Your tears will not stop!"

And with some random move, it slammed the Wrench Mace down onto the floor with both of it's axes, grounding the Barbatos' primary weapon.

"Yet… in this fight…" it continued, further confusing Mika as he forgot about the Crank chap. "I will make him repent!"

On a side note, can someone acknowledge how obsessive Ein is in avenging Lieutenant Crank? I mean, his obsession is even worse than Setsuna's obsession with becoming a Gundam… and when it gets past that… you need help.

Back on topic, the Barbatos' pilot was left momentarily stunned at that reaction speed, but he quickly recovered and gripped the Wrench with both of the Gundam's manipulator. Blasting the right thrusters, he sent the Gundam flying to the left for a roundhouse Wrench whack, though to his (admitted) shock, the Graze managed to block the Wrench with its axe.

It was then where it hit him.

' _So, he uses it too?'_ he thought, narrowing his eyes at the Graze. ' _The Alaya Vijnana…'_

And that thought was confirmed when the Graze suddenly appeared behind the Gundam, and it brought an axe down on it. Since Mika realized it too late and didn't have time to use the Wrench Mace, he instead raised one of the arm units and used one of the blue 'shields' equipped on them to block the blow.

The axe, instead of rebounding on the armour, was lodged into the armour. Seeing an opportunity, the Graze sent a drilling kick at the Barbatos' chest unit. The kick sent it back while creating a slight crack on the chest armour.

Recovering quickly from that, the Barbatos dug it's leg units into the ground, landing on it's knees and drove its right manipulator, whose digits were sharp enough to be considered claws, into the ground to slow and reduce it's impact on landing.

Grumbling at the shakiness in his cockpit, Mika shook his head and turned the Barbatos' head unit up to face the Graze. Whoever piloted the thing most definitely had an AV system.

Two AV fighters, this would most likely be interesting.

* * *

 **Several minutes later**

As with any other MS battle, the one raging between the Graze and the Barbatos kicked up a ton of dust. And, of course, it attracted a fair share of onlookers, specifically the Gjallarhorn soldiers who were staring at it.

"Commander…" said one of the soldiers. "Should… we do something?"

"Well… I don't know," admitted the man. "I know that one of the Mobile Suits are in there… but it's hard to believe so… it's almost like the devil."

As the man said that, the cloud dispelled a tad as the Graze swung its axes at the Barbatos. Hopping back, it dodged one swing, though didn't fully dodge another which nearly took it's leg unit.

In the cockpit, Mika felt a little shaken up by that, though he noticed the Graze's axe stuck in the ground. Deciding to take advantage of that, he swung the Wrench Mace at the Graze's arm unit, intending to remove that limb, though he didn't expect it to let go of the axe to dodge.

As a counter, the Graze launched a leg at it, sending the Gundam Frame flying to the side and landing on it's rear, losing it's grip on the Wrench Mace which landed behind it. Gritting his teeth, Mika turned to check the fuel supply. As he did, the Graze pulled it's axe out of the ground.

" _This_ is the perfect form of the Alaya Vijnana…" it said. "It's not like your crude one…"

Pointing it's retrieved axe at the Barbatos, it continued.

"The power to unify humans with Mobile Suits…"

"The perfect Alaya Vijnana?" wondered Mika, sounding a tiny bit distressed.

"You… you are nothing…" continued the Graze, raising an axe. "But a mere defective one!"

Right when the axe came down, the Barbatos did an impressive backflip and, assisted by the thrusters, it landed at where it dropped it's Wrench Mace. Bending down, it retrieved the weapon, though it couldn't dodge the axe which was tossed at it.

The weapon bounced off it's shoulder pad, though it did break off the side piece (the largest bit with the blue strip) and make the Gundam nearly lose its footing, though it readjusted it quickly.

Just in time too, as the Graze swung it's axe at the Barbatos, making it bend down to duck under it. While it did, the Graze leapt into the air and attempted to land on the Gundam… something which was pretty funny if you think about it too hard.

Once it landed, it kicked up a ton of dust, as you'd expect when a MS landed on… anything. Though through all that, the Barbatos did a roundhouse Wrench swing in an attempt to use the slight confusion to its pilots advantage, only for the Graze to deflect it with one axe.

The momentum redistribution caused the Gundam to get sent backwards. It shook Mika up a tad, though he wasn't down, not yet.

* * *

 **Some random place whose name in the anime was in japanese so I dunno what it's called. I mean, it could be the parliament, but I'll assume it's another place for now**

"Boss, I got a call from Miss Atra!" informed Takaki as he crouched near a computer. "He made it to the assembly."

"I see," replied Orga, tying his Tekkadan jacket around his waist. As he did, Takaki looked to him.

"That means that our job's over, right?" asked Takaki.

"Yes… it will be… soon," assured Orga, looking downcast. "I'll end it…"

"Boss?"

"Takaki," said Orga, sorta cutting Takaki off. "I need a favor…"

"A favor?" asked Takaki, sounding worried. "What about you?"

"I can't leave Mika by himself," replied the big boss of Tekka-squad. And Takaki let that quote sink in for a second.

"Hold on… you're going to the battlefield?!" he exclaimed. But Orga simply smiled.

"It's my job as the boss, Takaki," said Orga reassuringly. "It's my responsibility to see this through…"

And with that said, Orga rushed out to get into the Mobile Worker parked outside.

* * *

 **Back to the battlefield**

With yet another loud crash, the Gundam Barbatos was sent straight into a small structure… thing.

Covered in many scars, dents and even broken off pieces. Though the main pieces were the V-Fin (which was broken off in a previous battle so don't count that) and part of the arm shield.

In contrast, the Graze, who stood in front of it, was almost scratchless. It had little to no dents in it, mainly because Mika couldn't hit it too well.

"Sinful child…" grumbled the Graze, looking down at the Gundam Frame. "Lieutenant Crank(nee) never intended to fight you…"

While the Graze pilot continued it's babbling, something Mika found generally annoying in combat as he kept babbling about some sort of crank.

At the moment, he ignored the Graze and checked the systems.

"Only a little gas left in the thrusters…" he muttered as the AV system fed him most of the data. "Even with the remaining Autocannon bullets… I can't kill him."

"Why do you not understand?" cut in the Graze pilot.

Deciding to reply, Mika looked back up.

"That old man was wanting to die himself," he said, which didn't really help the situation.

"I knew it…" it said, as it's optic blazed up intensely, the optics releasing what could be called 'flames'. "You are defective!"

As he said that, the MS raised an axe, not noting the Barbatos' back thruster powering up. And when it was raised, the booster blasted to life, kicking up a ton of dust. Despite the cloud of dust, however, the Graze saw the Wrench Mace flying at it, and caught the thing.

"You rat…" he cursed before driving it's last remaining pile bunker into the Wrench Mace, completely destroying the top half and slightly crumpling the bottom. Though what it didn't predict was the Barbatos coming at it from behind to strike.

Mika attempted a simple action, grab the Graze's cockpit and crushing it, or trying to shoot it with the Autocannon. Though the Graze was too fast for his liking, and it whirled around, using the same arm it used to break the Wrench to catch the manipulator.

"You animals know nothing about the righteous path for humans!" exclaimed the Graze. And despite the firm footing it had on the ground, backed by the feet unit's suspenders, the Graze managed to lift the Barbatos off the ground and toss it to the side.

While in mid air, Mika gritted his teeth before activating the land boosters, flipping him rightside up. To help soften his landing, Mika kicked down on a leg controller, and the grey bits on the soles of the Barbatos' feet units flipped up, creating a claw-like appendage.

Assisted by those 'feet claws', the Barbatos' landing was not as hard as it would have without the. Though Mika didn't have enough time to recover to avoid the drill kick directed at it's chest, drilling into it and denting the Nanolaminated armour, nearly puncturing the right vent of the chest armour.

Though, thankfully, Mika leapt the Barbatos back to avoid a double backswing from the Graze, which kicked up dust as usual. While it pulled it's axes out, Mika activated the backpack arms which helped the Barbatos grab the emergency weapon of the Barbatos, a _Longsword_ , off it's back, just in time to block a strike from the Axe.

The Graze did not let up, slamming the other axe onto the Longsword.

"But you laid a hand on your savior and pulled him into the grave…" continued the Graze. And at this point, Mika gave up listening.

"Basic speed…" muttered Mika. "No… the _reaction_ speed… a difference in the Alaya Vijnana system?"

"You cannot be saved now…" continued the Graze as the Barbatos' knee units began to give in and bend down. "With your body disgraced by sins… you cannot be saved! Not you… or that woman!"

And that was what made Mika realize that almost everything was on him now.

"And your comrades… never!" continued the Graze, again, as he pushed the Barbatos onto it's knees. "I will _kill_ you and your comrades to purify your sins…"

At this point, Mika pretty much lost interest in all he said. All he heard was the word _sin_.

Sin… this person spoke about Mika as though all the problems in the Solar system. But he didn't know what Mika went through as a child. This… brat… he was most likely a Gjallarhorn soldier. And while Gjallarhorn soldiers would face hardships, they never knew what it would feel like to constantly be running from soldier's or being nameless for nearly eight years.

And while this boy yelled about just one boy, Mika has lost several hundred friends die. Die because of people like him. People blaming Kudelia-San for all of this. While he prefered Atra over Kudelia, the blonde has definitely earned some of his respect. Though anyone who could stop an entire fleet with just her voice would earn anyone's respect.

To add on, he said to kill his comrades to 'purify his sins'. If he thinks he'd even lay _a finger_ on any of them, especially Orga, Takaki or Atra, he was wholly mistaken.

"Sins…" muttered Mika, his pupils slowly shrinking, something he usually did if he was _angry_. "Save? That… is not for _you_ to decide…"

And that seemed to make him snap, as he directly asked his own Mobile Suit to amp it up.

"Oi… Barbatos," he said in a soft, deadly tone. "Just give me all you have… we have no reason to hold back any more…"

Once those words were said, the Barbatos' optics slowly brightened up by a few hundred shades. Noting that, the Graze kicked the Barbatos upwards at the chest, sending it back and up. Zipping behind the Gundam, it swung it's right axe at the waist unit.

"Die and repent!" proclaimed the pilot, launching the axe at the Gundam.

And it wasn't prepared to witness the Gundam deflecting the axe with a sword swing, greatly shocking it.

"What…?!" exclaimed the Graze as the axe dropped behind the Barbatos. "That reaction speed…"

"No…" came Mika's voice from within the cockpit. Gripping the arm controllers tightly, Mika withstood the amount of data pumped into his AV system. On a normal day, he would have lost a part of him thanks to the data, but today, he was _pissed_. And it took a lot more than this to paralyze a pissed off Mika.

Though it didn't stop his right eye and nostril to bleed thanks to the amount of AV-data transferred into him.

"More… more…" demanded Mika as the Barbatos complied, pumping more and more into his AV system. "Give me more… Barbatos!"

And with that said, the Gundam's green optics blasted to life, ready to battle.

* * *

 **With Takaki**

"Boss?"

Atop a building, Takaki contacted Orga with his LCS comm links. As he did, Takaki was setting up several LCS drones so that his leader could contact the other Tekkadan members.

"Can you hear me?" asked the blonde. "I've put up all the LCS drones we have. You can ocntact everyone on our team now."

* * *

 **Over with Orga**

"Good job, Takaki," thanked Orga as he drove down the desolate streets in his MW. As he did, he tapped the LCS comm link button to contact every member of Tekkadan who was still up.

"Can you all hear me?!"

* * *

 **Outskirts of Edmonton**

In the outskirts of Edmonton, a single Mobile Suit stood silently.

For the past hour or so, it had been holding it's ground against waves of **ED-06j** _Graze Ground Types_. And it did it's job pretty well, as pretty much no Grazes were still up and standing. Though it was pretty beat up, with it's light coffee coloured and white Nanolaminated armour dented up and shit.

Aside from the dents, it was missing one of it's sub arms which were stored in the backpack, but aside from that it received no major damage. After all, the Gundam Frame is epic.

It was known as the **ASW-G-11r** _Gusion Rebake_. And it's pilot was _Akihiro Atland_ , a beast of a teenager.

And onto the topic of 'no Grazes standing', I wasn't really joking. All around it, at least a small army of Grazes laid, their pilots killed and Mobile Suits beaten. Hell, when the Gusion lost it's axe, which Akihiro probably tossed at a Graze to kill it, the man didn't stop, using the Gundam's shield as a weapon by slamming it into a Graze's cockpit (that's hardcore, right there) and even stealing a Graze's sword to do battle.

Hell, he even ripped a Graze's arm off. Currently, he was still holding it in the Gusion's right manipulator.

Unfortunately, all the strain from the battle did take some tolls on Akihiro, as the AV system did make him nosebleed slightly, not to mention how worn out he was. But he managed a smile when Orga's voice came through the LSC.

" _Makanai and Kudelia have reached the Parliament!"_

* * *

 **A little closer to Edmonton**

" _Our job was a success."_

Forming a line, the heavy artillery Mobile Worker units rained down fire on the Gjallarhorn Workers. In the battle, they lost a few of their numbers, but the Gjallarhorn ones were dropping faster than flies in a frog farm.

Inside his MW, _Eugene Seven Stark_ grit his teeth as he and his friends laid down suppressive fire.

" _So… do_ _ **not**_ _die here!"_

* * *

 **The outer rim of Edmonton**

" _Don't die now!"_

Laying on the ground in front of his destroyed Ryusei Go, _Norba Shino_ smirked as Orga issued his commands through his Graze Frame's LCS.

Alongside him were _Lafter Frankland_ , _Azee Gurumin_ , _Eco Turbine_ , three members from Teiwaz who accompanied Tekkadan to Earth, and _Yamagi Gilmerton_ , an adorable boy who has a crush on Shino.

Hey, don't judge now.

Recently, when the Kimaris Trooper and unidentified Graze unit came down, all three of them (Shino, Lafter and Azee. Eco and Yamagi are just engineers) were taken out of commision thanks to its more advanced A-V system. Thankfully, none of them were taken out of commision, only receiving several broken ribs… maybe.

" _Whoever dies from here on out… I'll make sure to kill you again for disobeying me!"_

* * *

 **Edmonton**

" _So! No matter what…"_

Coming at the Barbatos, the Graze attempted a downswing at the smaller MS with one of its two axes. It didn't account for it to dodge, however.

"What is this?!" exclaimed the Graze as the Barbatos issued a possibly fatal strike to its arm which would have severed it. Thankfully for the Graze, it was able to pull its arm back to avoid the strike, only to lose one of its axes which was diced in two with the Longsword.

"His reaction speed has tripled…" muttered the Graze's pilot in shock. "How is this possible… his Alaya Vijnana system shouldn't be able to give out that much data!"

While the Graze attempted to figure out how to pin it down, the Barbatos' pilot pushed on tirelessly, focusing all his might on killing the Graze. Though he did pull part of his mind away to listen to Orga's orders.

" _Live! Even if you have to crawl… or if you have to die trying!"_

As he said that, Mika unknowingly smiled a tad.

' _He's been wanting to say that for some time…'_ he thought wistfully was he dodged a strike aimed at the waist unit and retaliated by swinging the Barbatos' Longsword at the Graze, slicing off a piece of it's 'horn' on it's head. ' _For so long…'_

' _Don't die… just live. It's simple when you put it into words, but he couldn't just say them…'_

Once the thought was over, Mika ducked the Barbatos under a sideswing from the Graze and swung the Longsword at it's cockpit, which it narrowly dodged, though a cut did appear on the edge of the unit. In retaliation, the Graze sent it's axe down on it, a strike which kicked up a ton of dust, and this time it didn't have time to dodge a swing which knocked off a part of it's arm frame.

And outside of all that chaos, the two Mobile Suits and their pilots didn't notice the Mobile Worker which stopped outside the dust.

"How is this possible…" muttered the Graze's pilot as he launched his MS' fist, spun up into a drill punch, at the Barbatos, which it blocked with it's Graze Ritter shoulderpad, though it was sent back a little, and a drill punch mark formed on the shoulderpad. "His movements…!"

With Orga off the LCS, Mika turned his mind back to combat, activating the Land Boosters and blasting his Gundam forward. Seeing his opponent coming, the Graze swung it's axe to stop the Gundam, though it didn't account for it to leap right over it.

Landing on both feet units, the Barbatos raised an arm to block a drill punch with the arm 'shield'. As it did, the Graze swung its axe at it, though before the weapon could connect with it's target, the Barbatos swung its blocking arm to the side, sending the drill arm to the side and allowing it to launch a punch at the Graze's head unit, snapping part of its 'horns' off and denting and bending it's helmet thingy.

Whirling back to face the Tekkadan MS, the Graze's optic seemed to glow a darker shade of red, prompting Mika to swing the Longsword at it again, though the Graze narrowly dodged it, earning a smaller cut on it's waist frame.

Not using it's axe this time, the Graze sent a drill punch at the Barbatos' head unit, sheering off it's left cheek armour and making Mika flinch in the cockpit. And that action sent it out of the dust cloud, allowing Orga to see what was happening, and to flinch at how damaged the Barbatos was.

"Not a chance!" exclaimed the Graze pilot, and before Mika could recover, it sent a drilling kick at his Gundam's waist frame, sending the Barbatos back and causing its Additional Armour Plating to drop off.

Stepping forward, the Graze stomped on the armour piece which had a Tekkadan symbol stamped on it, crushing it under it's metal foot.

"This is the end…" said the Graze, and honestly, Mika couldn't be bothered to listen.

He was tired, dehydrated, and he wanted to just close his eyes and drift into an embrace of dreams. So, as the Graze opened it's damaged helmet and glared at the Barbatos with it's single red monoeye, which was cracked from the punch he gave it, before raising it's axe, Mika didn't dodge.

Why bother fighting this thing? He had no goal, at least nothing he could remember… fighting this thing had made his brain feel mushy.

Closing his eyes, Mika simply accepted his fate… a fate of a Child Soldier. And while he did, he missed the activation of his Gundam's LCS comm links.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, MIKA?!"

That voice… it belonged to… Orga… Orga!

Blasting his eyes open, revealing dilated pupils, Mika remembered his mission. To ensure Tekkadan was successful.

And he was going to be there when it happened. So dying was not on his list, not now. Not ever.

With his mind cleared, Mika pushed down on a button on the Barbatos' arm, ejecting the Barbatos' Ritter shoulder pads and the backpack unit to reduce the weight on the Barbatos.

And to put it simply, it worked. Once the axe landed, all the Graze hit was the armour the Barbatos removed, though it did miss the backpack unit (for plot needs).

"What…?!" proclaimed the Graze, shocked by the speed. Swiveling it's cracked monoeye from side to side, it couldn't see the Barbatos, until it heard the sound of it's Land Boosters. Turning back, it saw the Gundam Frame leap into the air, Longsword raised.

Quickly, it attempted to swing its axe at it, though it was too slow, as the Barbatos completely severed the left, axe wielding arm unit off.

"He… he cut the Mobile Suit's inner and outer frame all together?!" exclaimed the pilot of the Graze in shock as his MS' arm unit went limp, losing it's grip on it's axe which landed to the side while the arm landed on the ground.

While it was still in shock, Mikazuki felt wistful inside the cockpit. Partly because he remembered what he was supposed to do, but mainly because he learnt how to use this weapon correctly.

"I finally understand how to use this…" he muttered, smiling ever so slightly. "It was so easy…"

"You… you monster!" exclaimed the Graze, launching its arm which was still attached for a drill punch. Dodging to the side, the Barbatos avoided the strike before severing that arm unit with it's sword.

"Look who's talking!" said Mika in a harsh tone as he narrowed his eyes at the Graze.

Moving back, the Graze began to raise it's leg unit for a drill kick, something it's opponent's MS dodged before stabbing it's weapon into the leg unit, making the Graze step back.

"Lieutenant Crank(nee)!" it exclaimed, it's voice filled with shame as it turned to the Barbatos, it's remaining leg unit seemingly about to break and it's single red optic blazing red. "Specialist Major Bauduin! My righteousness…"

Having enough of his babbling, Mikazuki pulled back the Barbatos' arm units before springing them forward, jamming the Longsword into the cockpit of the Graze. It was a clean cut, one which went right in and destroyed the pilot's life support system.

And as it went limp, Mika simply glared at it.

"Shut up…" he grumbled. "Orga's giving me orders…"

As he said that, Orga looked up to the sky, smiling happily.

A smile which faded when his LCS comm links went on.

"Orga!" came Takaki's voice. And he seemed alarmed.

"What is it, Takaki?" asked Orga, his happiness fading thanks to Takaki's tone.

"There's a large amount of Ahab build up near you…" said Takaki urgently. "It's… it's coming from the Mobile Suit Mr Mikazuki is fighting!"

Widening his eyes, Orga whirled back to face the Barbatos and activated his comm links which connected to the Barbatos.

"Mikazuki!" exclaimed Orga. "Fall back, now!"

Hearing this, Mika simply felt confused, before the on screen alert came up, alerting him to an Ahab build up. And if he remembered what Old Man Yuki said… it meant…

' _Self destruct!'_ thought Mika as he flipped the Land boosters back and activating them, blasting the Gundam back, and also yanking the Longsword out. Yet, something seemed to be malfunctioning in the Barbatos. Mika would have wondered if it was because he pushed it too far, but he didn't have much time, as the Barbatos seemed to just shut down.

Alongside that small problem, the Barbatos was being _pulled_ towards the Graze. Not just the Barbatos, though. The Wrench Mace, Graze's arms/axes, the armour parts which the Gundam ejected, some light posts and stuff around the area, and even Orga, who was reversing his MW.

Yet, when the Barbatos and Mika came into contact with the Graze, the 'vortex' stopped, causing Orga's MW to be sent back slightly. Grumbling, he climbed out of his Mobile Worker, before widening his eyes.

"Orga!" came Takaki's voice again. "The Ahab build up is gone. But I'm not picking up the Barbatos' Ahab Wave! What's wrong?!"

But Orga didn't answer. The sight in front of him was too much.

Mika… Mika and the Barbatos… both gone. Nothing was even left, not even any of the weapons.

And for one of the few times in his life, Orga allowed himself to shed some tears before letting out an anguished yell.

A yell which rang through the Edmonton sunset and represented the lost of a friend, and something which would haunt Orga for many years from now.

Yet… the Tekkadan leader was wrong to assume that Augus was dead.

In fact, he was well and alive, fighting for a new cause…

* * *

 **SO YES. WELCOME TO** _ **TEKKETSU NO KYOJIN!**_

 **If you're wondering, no, I dunno what kinda drug I was on when I was writing this. I'm too young to take drugs anyways. Also, this was edited on the 20/8/17… yes… I edited chapter 1 NINE YEARS after I published it. Gotta love how time flies…**

 **Now onto a question I'm sure y'all are wondering.**

" **Why are** _ **Mina Carolina**_ **,** _ **Nac Tias**_ **, and** _ **Mylius Zeramuski**_ **in this story? I can understand** _ **Annie Leonhart**_ **is here since she's a main character (sorta), but why three characters who are dead?"**

 **Well… main reason is because I like em! I mean… I'm not a main character kinda guy. Except Mika. He's boss. But in other series, I attach more to Side characters. And besides, Mina, Nac and Mylius all have the basic character traits to turn them into good characters!**

 **And the writers decided to kill em off. Thanks a lot, Eren. Speaking of Eren, I seriously dislike him. Hot headed simpleton. Mikasa and Armin are alrai. I remember using them as main characters, before I changed it cuz Side characters FTW!**

 **P.S, originally, I didn't intend of Mylius to be a main character. It was supposed to be 'Mikazuki, Mina, Annie, Nac', but for some reason there is no way to choose IBO characters… dunno why. So because of this, Mylius has joined the game!**

 **Onto other subjects in this** _ **waaaaaay**_ **too long outro, I chose the Barbatos because it is, in short, one of the weakest Gundams in the universe, but it looks epic. Since it's one of the weakest, I decided to use it (also because I really like it). I mean, just imagine the Strike Freedom Gundam or even the God Gundam. The story would be over before it begins!**

 **And finally, why Mika? Well, mainly because I love him. Not in a gay way. In a 'favorite character' way. I may be biased, since IBO is the first real Gundam series I completed, but I just really like him. Also, I really wanna try and develop Mika as much as I can.**

 **SO FINALLY I'M DONE WITH THE OUTRO. I'LL SEE YOU IN C2.**

 **BAI**

 **P.S, FINAL NOTE WHICH I FORGOT TO ADD, but in this story, I will be using come ideas which come from the Barbatos concept art from the Gundam Wiki. Stuff like the 'Backpack claw' will be here, and the Autocannons can detach and be able to use the Arm Motors in the case of emergencies.**

 **Also, the grey pieces on the feet unit can flip down to act as 'braces' to slow it down when falling back. It isn't a concept thing, but a design inspired by the Exia Repair 2's feet claws.**

 **Alright see ya**


	2. Shattering the skies

**(Did you get this Fortress?)**

 **ELLO THERE.**

 **Welcome to the actual Chapter 1 of Tekkatsu No Kyojin, mai fren. The previous chapter was kinda just a reason for me to make this shiz.**

 **Also, this chapter was edited on 4/6/2017, because I need some things to do during my June holidays. So, enjoy…?**

 **Oh, and some notes down below.**

* * *

Space.

The final frontier, the home of millions/billions of other planets, and probably darker than the inside of my clothes drawer, the place usually held Zero Activity (for the most part **cough cough** ), unless you consider stars floating around the endless void activity.

But it didn't seem to be the case on this fateful day, as in the usually undisturbed void of space, a slight tear in the blackness of the endless void. Usually, such tears would last for a few seconds before disappearing, but this one got larger and larger before finally disappearing, but not before spitting out a few humanoid objects and several other damaged parts.

Both were giant Mobile Suits, each over 15 metres in height, with human-like proportions as they were built to be compatible with users of Alaya-Vijnana. But that was where the similarities ended as they each had vastly different aesthetic looks.

The taller one was codenamed the **EB-AX2** _Graze Ein_. It somewhat resembled a robotic demon, and the colours, proportions and design backed it up. It stood a hefty 22.2 metres tall, and the lengthy limbs of the MS gave it a rather creepy vibe if viewed at night or from afar. Its colour scheme was primarily black with a purplish-grey hue, and traces of dark grey were seen in certain areas. Both its arms were severed at the elbow and had a large cut in its cockpit, a cut which killed its pilot.

The other MS was much different in the looks department. Instead of just a demon, it resembled a Knight with a demon-like aesthetic. It was known as the **ASW-G-08** _Gundam Barbatos_. Its colour scheme was less monotone than the EB-AX2, primarily coloured with pure white and grey. Other minor colours included dark blue, yellow and red. The most notable feature was its crest which, resembled the devil's horns, was snapped off towards the left, showing the inner frame unit of the V-fin.

The damaged pieces which were floating around were mostly from the Barbatos, being its damaged shoulder pads, a backpack unit which was still usable, only with a damaged thruster unit, a Longsword and a Special/Wrench Mace whose top half, which contained the chainsaw, was busted. Despite the housing being destroyed, however, the Chainsaw within still functioned.

As the Mobile Suits floated about aimlessly, a certain boy sat within the cockpit of the Barbatos, slowly regaining his consciousness. The child stood at the height of 5'75", a little undersized for a 15 year old. Aside from his size, the boy had pure black hair alongside a light blue eye colour. And in spite of his size, he was _extremely_ muscular, able to lift a fully grown man off the floor with little to no problems.

The boy was known as _Mikazuki Augus_ , the current pilot of the Gundam Barbatos.

As he regained his consciousness, the Barbatos' optics began to glow a light shade of green thanks to the Alaya Vijnana installed into Mika's back which activated the unit as he awoke.

And when he was fully up, Mika held his hand up to his forehead and rubbed it intensely, feeling a headache coming up. But when he lowered it, the boy raised a confused eyebrow.

"Space?" he muttered, blinking in confusion as he grabbed the Barbatos' controller units and placed his feet down on the thruster controllers. And with a simple twist on the units, he turned the Barbatos' head and waist units, looking around the area he was in. And indeed, he was in space.

Turning his MS left and right, he noticed a few planets, namely Mars and Jupiter. And after a short while, he looked down and realized what planet he was above. "Earth?"

Inspecting the planet, he couldn't help but be entranced by how beautiful the little green and blue marble was. Turning the Barbatos around, he saw his namesake looming behind the Gundam.

" _Mikadzuki…_ " he whispered, raising the left arm unit of the Barbatos towards the moon, entranced by the size of it. He remembered seeing the thing a couple of times, on Earth and a few times during their fight to enter earth, but on Earth it looked like a simple round orb, and he didn't really have time to look at it during the battle as he was busy trying to not die.

He then realized something which snapped him out of his trance. Orga was still down there! And if Gjallarhorn was still launching an attack, he needed to get down to help!

Hastily, Mika decided to grab the backpack unit of the Barbatos', which he attached onto it's back thanks to some on screen instructions. On the topic of weapons, Mika grabbed the Longsword and the Wrench Mace for good measure, as he still wasn't 100% sure on how he should be using the sword.

And now came the problem of trying to re enter Earth. He knew that going down to the place with his MS would be something only a suicidal blockhead would do, as the heat caused by re entry would literally melt the armour off. Combine that with how fast you'll be going and you'll have a Mobile Suit which was probably missing arm, leg and head units which were melted off coming towards earth like a missile, and exploding.

That was when he remembered how he re entered Earth's atmosphere, using a Graze Ritter's body as a shield to absorb the heat when re entering. And as fate would have it, he had an extra Mobile Suit nearby.

Turning the head unit to the Graze Ein, Mika huffed. "Yeah, that will work."

* * *

In the silent night, a young black haired girl was currently looking out of her home's open window, looking up at the sky, stargazing. While others of her age never bothered to look at the stars and criticised those like her of being 'heretics', her curiosity of what laid beyond the Walls of Maria held.

The walls… she looked towards the massive wall surrounding the Trost District, one of the few things separating humanity from their biggest threat, Titans. It was rather shameful, to be locked in a 'cage' to be safe.

But she was snapped out her thoughts when a familiar voice called out his name. "Oy! Mina!"

The girl known as Mina looked down and saw her only friend, Nac Tias.

Nac was a boy who was at the age of 12, with raven black hair swept back. And he was quite a smartass, seeing as he had enough knowledge to write up some stuff on the outside world and stuff it into a small notebook. The any kind of knowledge on that stuff was rare to come by, as the government would rather them not try to climb the walls, somehow. Despite this, Nac seemed to carry it around all the time to write or read.

Yet, under all that smartass shtick, Nac was probably one of the friendliest people you'd meet as he's befriended nearly a quarter of the children of Trost, though he showed a particular fondness for Mina.

She met the him a couple years back when she was at the age of six in a play area within Maria, wondering what laid outside the Walls when until she saw Nac, as she got. And long story short, she discovered that he was also curious about the outside, and he began telling her about their theories, quickly forming a strong bond between the two.

But anyways, Mina smiled and waved at him as Nac asked if he could come in, and Mina nodded. Once inside, he greeted Miss Carolina, Mina's only parent, before heading to Mina's room, where he sat down near the window and started conversing with the girl about the outside world while, though it was Nac who spoke the most as he had the notebook.

Though Mina listened closely as Nac explained about the outside in as much detail as he could, she did occasionally peek out her window to stare at the stars for awhile, but on her tenth peek, she saw a particular figure, a bright ray of light slicing through the night sky like a hot knift through butter.

"Nac?" muttered Mina, not looking away from the object, making Tias look away from the book. "What's that?"

With that said, Mina pointed up to the thing. Moving over, Nac saw what it was and widened his eyes. "Shooting star…"

Hearing this, they ran up to join and watched as the comet disappeared. The two were rather disappointed, but Nac quickly shook off the disappointment before grabbing out the notebook he brought with him. Quickly flipping through the pages, he found a page explaining what Shooting Stars were.

"Mina!" he called over to his friend before he showed her the page. After looking at the images which showed sketches of shooting stars, Mina asked a simple question.

"Do you think the shooting star will land here?" she asked curiously.

"I don't know," replied Nac. "But hey, who knows?

* * *

" _I can't predict the future after all."_

"Earth's gravity is still impressive…" muttered Mikazuki as he re-entered Earth's atmosphere. Remembering what he did when he first entered earth, he positioned the Graze Ein below Barbatos to soak up the heat from re-entry, stabbing the sword into the MS and using it as a handle to keep Barbatos onto the Graze Ein. When he completely entered the planet, he pulled the sword out and jumped off the dilapidated MS, which crashed down many miles away from the Barbatos, and caused a massive explosion on impact.

So don't expect a Reginlaze Julia anytime soon.

As the ground approached, Mikazuki activated the back and leg thrusters alongside the side Land Boosters to slow his descent. He managed to slow it down by a substantial amount, though it didn't stop the Barbatos from making a massive crater and kicking up a massive amount of dust when the it landed.

Through the dust, two piercing light green optics were seen. As the dust cleared, the Barbatos' pilot turned the MS' head unit left and right, looking out for Graze Ground Types or Graze Ritters. Surprisingly, there were little to no indications of any kind of Gjallarhorn activity. Hell, there weren't even any other humans in this wasteland.

And if you really wanna get specific, there was no LCS activity. Not even random chatter on the thing.

But still, recent events with Gjallarhorn made Mikazuki a little weary that they'd have an extra Graze Ein in storage. Looking around, he noticed a massive grove of trees before hovering towards the area, kneeling the Gundam Frame behind a group of larger trees.

Once he was sure he was hidden, he detached himself from the Barbato's Alaya-Vijnana cord, which killed the lights on the optics and knee/chest emblems, and took in a deep breath. Raising his right arm, he felt his right eye and wiped some of the blood off it. Looking blankly at his bloodied fingers, Mika silently wondered what the heck happened, since he couldn't see all that bloody shiz in his eye. And also because he was kinda unconscious for some time, and being unconscious would occasionally make you forget some shit.

The last thing he really remembered was the Barbatos being sucked towards that Graze unit which was apparently gonna kaboom itself. But if so, shouldn't he be dead? Maybe this place was Hell or something. Who knows? I mean, he envisioned Hell to be more fiery, though.

Or maybe he was just transported to some other random place. Mika couldn't really remember, but if his memory served him correctly, Old Man Yuki, the old technician and 'teacher' of Tekkadan, said that several Gundam Frame were lost when the Mobile Suits they fought against self destructed. And if he wasn't wrong, Yuki also spoke of 'transportation to other worlds' or something.

Perhaps that was what happened to him? Who knew? Rubbing his chin, Mika assumed that he was just in some area far away from Tekkadan, mainly because he didn't believe in magic and because he didn't know enough about Ahab Reactors to make a solid conclusion. With some hope, Mika tapped the Barbatos' monitor several times to search for some nearby Tekkadan lines, and found that there were none nearby.

Raising a confused eyebrow, Mika tried the 'manual search' feature and typed in Tekkadan, only to get the same result. After fifteen minutes, he decided to try contacting Gjallarhorn, as he assumed that he was too far from the Tekkadan team to contact them.

After spending a solid ten minutes of trying to type Gjallarhorn into the manual search, Mika gave up as every search result for Gjallarhorn gave the same result, no lines available.

Blinking, Mika gave out an annoyed sigh as he looked down in defeat. As he did, Mika felt an odd feeling of despair building up in him, a feeling he's almost never felt. Maybe he was in some other world, far away from Tekkadan, his family.

Having any form of emotion was a rare thing for Mika, so the feeling of despair and loneliness really hit him hard. But thinking about what would happen to Tekkadan back at home somehow felt worst.

Thankfully, a slight sound snapped Mika out of his thoughts. Looking at the radar, Mika noticed a figure coming at him slowly. At first, he thought it was a Graze or perhaps the Gusion Rebake or Ryusei Go. Plugging back into the Barbatos, Mika turned the Barbatos' head unit towards where the sound came from, feeling a tiny bit hopeful.

And that feeling of hope was squashed when he saw what it was, and it admittedly freaked him out, abiet only a little.

The one who made the noise was no Graze. Instead, it was a rather tall humanoid thing, about 7-8 metres, with terribly out of proportionate limbs, a head larger than the Barbatos' and no clothes. That was what convinced the Tekkadan pilot that he was on some other planet, or some weird part of Hell, as he knew that giant human things don't exist on Earth. Standing the Barbatos up to it's full extent, Mika turned his MS to look at it and activated the microphone function in the Gundam..

"Oi, what do you want?" he asked, Longsword by his side. The thing didn't respond, and charged at the Barbatos. Mikazuki was a little dumbfounded. This 8 metre unarmored humanoid thing was charging straight at a 18.8 metre Gundam frame who had a sword, two arm mounted guns and a broken, yet could still serve as a good whacking tool or tree toppler, Wrench Mace

As the thing approached, Mikazuki only lifted up the Barbato's right leg. When it was just about to reach, he fired up the leg boosters on the sides of his MS's foot, and sent the leg flying towards the 8 metre thing. The impact was so strong that the leg unit of the Barbatos pulverized the upper body of the 8 metre creature, the torso and head (including the nape) exploding in a gory mess of guts, blood and bone.

Stomping the bloody foot of his Mobile Suit down, he turned and looked at what remained of the creature. He couldn't tell what it was, having no record inside the Barbatos which matched the thing he pulverized. He looked back at the creature and was rather surprised that the thing was evaporating, as was the blood on the Barbatos' foot. Mikazuki raised an eyebrow before he turned the Barbatos around and started to hover forward. But he couldn't help but feel disturbed.

'What the heck was that…' he thought as he piloted his MS. But as time went by, he encountered more and more of these creatures. He killed several of the things (mainly by accident because the Barbatos' foot unit would accidentally slam into them while it hovered forward) before he heard something to the left. Turning the Barbatos towards it, Mika expected another one of those things, but instead, he heard several voices.

"Hanji!" exclaimed the voice. "You dolt!"

"So I'm not the only one here," muttered Mika turning the Barbatos. Even if he wasn't too social, Mika knew that to survive, you'd wanna get to a populated area or group up with other humans. So, with a tiny bit of hesitance, Mika activated all the thruster units and blasted towards where that yell came from.

* * *

 **Yes, that's the end of C1, sorta. I don't really have an intro, so have some notes.**

 **So… in this story, Mika will be a little OOC (out of character), as in he'll be a little friendlier. I guess the story is labeled 'friendship' so there's that.**

 **Also, if you're wondering why I chose Mika and the Barbatos, well, the answer is simple. No Beam Weapons. Seriously. I mean, just imagine the Strike Freedom or Qan[T] in this story. Imagine how quick it'd end. Just beam spam and WHAM. No more Titans.**

 **And I chose Mika mainly because I think that he needs some more development and interaction with other people.**

 **Anyways, see you in C2/3.**


	3. The White Knight

**I can't believe anyone made it this far, but if you did, have a cookie. So this chapter is gonna include about 50% of ep 1 of SnK**

 **So yeah. Hope ya enjoy**

* * *

Sitting up, a young boy grunted, having experienced a weird "dream" of sorts. Looking up, he saw a girl his age kneeling down and staring back.

"Huh. Mikasa?" he started, looking at her. The girl known as Mikasa looked at him with an empty stare.

"We should head back," she suggested in her monotone voice.

But the boy seemed perplexed. "Why are you here?"

"Were you in a deep sleep and still think you you're still dreaming?" she questioned, standing up.

"No, I think I was having a really long dream," he replied, sitting cross-legged as the girl turned to leave. "What was I even dreaming about anyway… I can't remember…"

As he racked his mind for what he was dreaming of, Mikasa picked up a crude backpack looking contraption made of wood which was, ironically, carrying sticks. She looked back, only for her emotionless expression to turn into a more shocked look. "Eren, why are you crying?"

"Huh?" was the first thing he asked

"Here! The Walls were created by the Gods!" yelled one of the many religious freaks of this world. "The Walls are the work of God! Not one soul shall dare desecrate the marvelous creations of our father!"

"Don't tell anyone I was crying…" pleaded the boy, Eren Jaeger as he walked alongside his adopted sister.

"I won't," she assured, looking as stone cold and emotionless as ever. "But if you didn't know why you were crying, maybe you should ask mum or dad about it?"

"Are you kidding? I can't tell dad about that!" retorted Eren, giving Mikasa a stern look.

"Whatcha' crying about, Eren?" came a voice which caught their attention. From the side came a man about twice, or more, their size. He had a rather long face with an mustache a little above where those things are supposed to be.

"Hannes," greeted Jaeger in a rather surprised tone.

"Is Mikasa mad at you?" he asked sarcastically, making Eren gasp slightly

"What? Why would I be crying for? And… bleh! You reek of alcohol!" he retorted, twisting to one side to avoid the terrible smell as he gagged. As he did, two others behind Hannes started laughing

"Nothin' wrong with that!" said a random Corp member as he and his friend shared a pint.

"You're drinking again?" asked Eren with a deadpanned look. His father always said alcohol wasn't good for you, so he generally avoid it. So seeing people drinking the beverages so regularly was rather odd to him.

"Wanna join us?" invited Hannes, looking down at the boy. Eren only looked up at him, mildly confused.

"Uhm… aren't you on duty?"

"Oh! Yeah, we're watching the gates today…" replied the older man, clearly not showing much interest in his assigned job. "We've been here all day and started getting a little hungry and thirsty. So we thought it probably wasn't much of a big deal if we happened to drink something with some alcohol in it."

Eren scoffed at that statement while Mikasa didn't even react, only staring blankly at Hannes until Eren spoke up. "But if you're drunk, how are you going to fight?"

Hannes seemed confused by what Eren said and asked when would they have to fight, angering Eren. "Do you really have to ask?" he started, anger building up. "When they break down the wall and come in!"

"Ouch...uh, Eren, don't say things like that out loud…" Hannes warned, rubbing the side of his head with his hand.

"If it isn't Dr. Jaegers son. You've got sprite kid," came a voice behind Hannes. A rather chubby man came up beside Hannes and assured Eren that if the walls do crumble, they'll do their job.

But he also added that not once in the past 100 years have the titans broke the wall, which seemed to anger the child

"But still!" began Eren, "my dad says that it's times like these when we're in most danger!"

That seemed to rile up both soldiers. "Dr. Jaeger said that?" started Hannes. "Well, he's right… he did save our town from a plague before… and we can't thank him enough for that. But the Titans are a different story. I see those repulsive creatures all the time when I mend the walls. But speaking as a soldier, i don't think they can do much to the 50 metre wall around us."

But Eren didn't seem to get it that well. "S-so… you don't even have the will to fight them?"

"Nope," replied the plump chap, angering jaeger.

"What?!" exclaimed Eren "why don't you stop calling yourselves "Town Guards" and call yourselves what you should be called, Wall Menders!"

"Has a nice ring to it,"replied Hannes calmly. "But Eren, when people see soldiers fighting they know that something bad happened. Everyone's much happier when we're doing nothing and getting called useless freeloaders."

And all that did was cause the anger inside Eren to boil up to a higher level. "Yeah… I know. We may not get out… but as long as we can eat and sleep… but we're living… we're living like… like livestock."

The apt description made Hannes flinch, but provided a good laugh for his friends behind him.

"This kid sure knows how to talk!"

"Not like you can do anything, right, Hannes?"

"Uh… right," he replied, looking back as Eren and the still silent Mikasa walked pass him. "Hey (or Oi if you watch the Jap dub), Eren!"

"You're crazy kid!" yelled one of the three other men with Hannes at the two walked off

But something struck the inside of Hanne's head as the two walked off. "Does… does he want to join the Recon Corps?"

"Eren, I don't think you should join the Recon corps," started Mikasa, breaking the silence.

"What, you think they're stupid too?" he asked curiously.

"I'm not saying they're stupid or anything," assured Mikasa. She was about to say something

else but was cut off by the massive bell ringing.

"The Survey Corps are back!" yelled an excited Eren Jaeger, "the front gate is opening! Let's go, Mikasa!" he proclaimed, grabbing her hand, "the heroes have returned!" And with that, he dragged Mikasa Ackerman off into the streets.

* * *

The sound of hoofsteps could be heard through the calm morning in the Shiganshina District as the Recon Corps returned from their patrol outside the walls. As they trotted their horses in, Eren and his adopted sister rushed atop some crates to get a better view of Eren's "heroes".

One of them glanced at him before looking away. At first this confused Jaeger, until he saw why

Bodies. Nearly three fifth of the SC were injured, lost a body part or outright gone. Eren felt a little queasy until a woman's voice snapped him out of it. She mentioned not finding her son, and begged to see him. The commander looked down, stone face, before asking to "bring it here".

A Survey Corp nodded, before bringing an object wrapped in white fabric with several red spots of blood. The woman looked at it and opened, before immediately snapping it shut when she saw its content. She fell onto her knees, sobbing

But through the tears, she managed to ask one question. "But… my son… was useful, right?"

The question caused the commander to flinch as the teary eyed woman continued. "He might… not have been a hero, but he at least died helping mankind fight back, RIGHT?!"

Following her question was a long and eery silence until the commander replied. "Of course!" but soon, he felt a massive amount of guilt for lying

"No… during this mission, we...no, even after all our missions, we still haven't made any progress!" he yelled, further aggravating the woman. "I'm a failure, I've gotten soldiers killed left and right! And we still haven't learnt anything useful about the Titans!"

As the Survey Corps trotted off, a bespectacled girl was rather sad. When she was asked by a fellow member, she only yelled what she was thinking

"Come on, Lura! Don't tell me this isn't a great discovery!"

* * *

 _In the dark of night, the 104 Survey Corps was mostly feeling fear at the moment. Commander Keith got the team to split into groups of two. While Keith commanded the first half, Erwin Smith commanded the other._

 _After trotting, and occasionally killing a Titan, SC member Hanji suggested to have a closer look at a pack of 10 Titans. Erwin reluctantly agree, and unfortunately she got **way** to close of a look, alerting the pack._

 _In their attempt to escape the pack, they had lost two members of their group thanks to Zoe, but the other fifteen or so was struggling to stay alive, which was entirely dependant on their 3D-MG running out of gas, and if that happened, they would have to pray that the other group is close enough to help them._

 _A Titan managed to grab hold of a SC member who struggled profusely against the grip of this giant. But it was all for naught as it brought him to his mouth. The man closed his eyes to prepare for the inevitable, but instead of having his bones crunched, he dropped down from the Titan's grip. A fellow Corp caught him, but the others, who had perched on trees, were amazed at what happened._

 _As buried in the Titans regenerating body was a massive light grey/white and black "weapon". The area which wasn't buried inside the Titan was rather thin and resembled a kind of grip of sorts. The area buried inside the quickly regenerating Titans body was quite the opposite, being the size of one and a half Titan heads, with three spike like objects and some sort of spiked sword (that chainsaw thingy), though it did look incredibly mangled._

 _Before any of the Survey Corps could even turn, an extremely loud noise akin to a jet engine (not that they knew what that was) was heard. The team turned and they all widened their eyes in fear. Approaching from the left of them was a Titan, but it didn't look like an average one, having an odd mechanical look with almost no resemblance to an average one of the human eaters._

 _It was taller than almost all Titans, being a hefty 18.8 metres, a size previously unheard of when speaking of Titans. The most notable features were its golden crest, blue, gold and white chest, the glowing pink symbols on it's chest and knees and the massive blade attached to it's back._

 _The team was ready to accept that they were completely fucked, until the new Titan went straight past them. It's "backpack" suddenly extended up, and allowed it to grab the long-blade from its back. Pulling down its arm, it sliced a Titan's head from head to it's crotch in one simple stroke._

 _It then ducked, dodging a 10 metres grab before balancing itself on both its arms and kicked the Titan with both legs, sending it flying towards the other Titans. Following that impressive maneuver, it jumped back in time to dodge another 10 metre which attempted to grab this newcomer. Extending one arm, it blasted the Titan with two unknown ammunition rounds out of the black blocks on its arms, destroying the skull of the beast._

 _The Survey Corps were dumbfounded by this new Titan. Never in their time serving in the Corps, or even in recorded history, has a Titan helped humanity. And this was a new variant as well. While most were awestruck, Hanji was freaking the fuck out. But she also noticed that it mainly attacked exposed areas, apparently unaware of the only weak spot on a Titan._

 _"Hit the nape!" she yelled, earning the attention of her fellow Survey Corps who stared at her, dumbfounded. "What?"_

 _Before anyone could yell at her for being crazy, the White Titan looked at her, before it brought a Titan down and slamming its weird heeled foot onto its neck, obliterating the nape. After doing so, it jumped back, dodging grasps of the 15 metre, and retrieved the weapon it tossed, holding in with both hands._

 _Suddenly, the black sections on the hips, legs and backpack blasted out a blue exhaust, sending the White Titan rocketing forward towards the Titans._

 _As it destroyed the group of Titans, Hanji whispered to Levi. "Hey, do you think that…"_

 _"Shut it four eyes," the short man known as Levi replied, knowing what Hanji was about to ask. Shaking his head, he unsheathed his two blades. When someone asked what he was doing, he replied by saying someone would have to kill this Titan when it was done with its massacre_

 _About three minutes after the new "Mechanical" Titan arrived, the pack of ten Titans were absolutely destroyed. The group, while looking at the white Titan, forgot that it may just try to kill them._

 _It looked up at them with its bright green eyes, spooking most of the Survey Corps, mainly because they seemed to predominant in the darkness. But instead of squashing them, it looked up at the moon calmly, until Hanji spoke up. "HEY! YOU!" she yelled, and the others looked at her like she was insane. Though the stares were shifted when the White Titan turned and looked at her, the glassy green eyes piercing the darkness of the night._

 _It looked at Hanji with those unblinking bright green eyes before walking towards her tree in a non-threatening way. Unlike the average Titans walk (or wobble), this one stomped towards them more humanly. As it approached, the other members backed away and unsheathed their blades as it stared silently at Hanji while the other SCs backed away. Unfazed, she waved at it. "Hey there! Thanks a bunch for helping!"_

 _The Titan was silent as Hanji examined the new Titan as closely as she could in the night light. She noted that the head seemed badly damaged, with the crest snapped off and the side of its head badly scarred. But thinking of it being damaged made her realize something. Titans regenerate, didn't they? When she took a closer look, she noticed it was pretty much 100% mechanical, at least from what she could see anyways._

 _But before she could do anything else or examine it more, a yell was heard as a Survey Corp came flying at the Titan. It easily dodged before jumping back. Hanji turned and saw the other members of their team, coming at the new Mechanical Titan. Before Hanji could get them to stop, the White Titan leaped back and the black objects on its hips turned forward and propelled it backwards._

" _Commander Erwin!" proclaimed Keith, landing next to his pal. "What happened?"_

" _Not much," replied Erwin flatly, apparently wanting to save Hanji from some humiliation. "We should get moving."_

" _Yes, we should," agreed Keith, prompting them to head back to Shiganshina, unaware that a certain MS was following them._

* * *

"... and then we rode back without much trouble!" finished Hanji, telling Commander Keith what happened. The chap nodded thoughtfully before asking what this "Mechanical" Titan looked like. Hanji could only provide an apt description of its face, stating it was pretty much 100% mechanical.

After the Survey Corps made it back to HQ, Commander Keith got Hanji and Levi to tell him what happened. She poured out all she and her allies saw and when he asked as Levi stood beside the taller 25 year old, listening. And, when asked, she gave the description of the Titans face in as much detail as she could squeeze out.

And when I say as much detail, I really mean EVERY. LAST. THING. From the damaged antenna to the weapon it used, she gave a 100% description of what she saw.

When she finished, Keith seemed to be in deep thought, making Levi genuinely afraid.

"Don't tell me you're thinking what shit glasses has been asking all the way from outside to inside," pleaded Levi

"I know your concerns, Captain Levi. But our battles against the Titans are going nowhere, and any edge we have..." started the commander, before the ground shook. The three of them ran out along with their other Survey Corp peers. What they missed was the lightning which struck down outside the wall. At first, they thought it was a slight explosion, until a massive 10 metre (or so) hand gripped the wall above the door to the outside

The Survey Corps, and pretty much everyone else, could only look up in fear as a massive Titan's head lumbered over the 50 metre wall. It looked down at them, as if trying to figure out who to eat first. And suddenly, the ground shook even more, followed by a loud explosion at the gate to Shiganshina.

* * *

Grunting, Mika shook his head and rubbed his forehead, awoken from his sleep rather abruptly thanks to some sort of large scale tremor.

Several hours prior, Mika tailed those people with the fancy gear back to a place they call 'Wall Maria'. And Mika soon found out that it was literally a 'Wall', at most 50 metres in height. How they built the darn thing was something Mika didn't think too much of.

At first, Mika was tempted to just barge in and say hi, but he thought better of it when he remembered that the people here weren't that friendly towards the larger humans, mainly because the large ones seemed to try and capture them for some reason.

While he didn't care about causing an uproar, Mika much prefered to be in an intact stronghold than one which was broken, so he laid low in an area far from the Wall. His original plan was to just get the Barbatos in, but the fact that he felt worn out from the battle with the Ein, alongside the fact that humans tended to get tired at night, made him change his mind and decide to go to sleep and think of something the next day, leading to the things which are happening now.

Yawning, Mika's eyes slowly lost the blurry feeling you'd get when you're asleep, and he shook his head to dispel the sleepiness spell. And when it was gone, he saw that Wall Maria had a large hole on it.

Blinking, Mika simply sighed, cursing his odd luck.

"Well… this can't end well"


	4. Fall of Maria

**You made it to chapter 3! Welcome! Just a heads up, this chapter may not have much of episode 2 of SnK. It'll mainly have Barbatos fighting. So yea, enjoy**

 **Le UPDATE; twas completely rewritten because the original was pretty terrible. I think this one far surpasses t.**

* * *

While people would usually vomit at this sight, Mika hardly flinched. But he had to admit, what he saw in front of him was rather disturbing.

After he heard that explosion thingy and the smoke which accompanied it, Augus hovered the Barbatos towards where it came from and saw a large hole in the Wall. Deciding to use this chance, he stepped the Barbatos in and saw the large humanoid people launching their hands at the smaller ones. And what they did to those they caught sent tingles up his spine, and not the good kind.

What he saw was people being eaten alive by the creatures whom he encountered the previous few days. They would occasionally break their victims spine, rendering them unable to struggle. Guess that explained why they wanted to catch them, he supposed.

Mikazuki was not the type to feel pity, but he did feel disgust at the acts, abiet only a bit.

And while Mikazuki wasn't one to help strangers as you'll never know if they'd turn on you, the few strands of humanity left in his conscious urged him to help the humans of the Walls. Mika tried to ignore it, but the urge got a little annoying, so he decided to do it. And besides, if they were gonna eat humans, it meant they would probably try and eat him. So even if he ignored them, they'd probably try and grab him.

Activating the back and leg thrusters, he launched the Barbatos towards a 10 metre tall enemy. He ducked under its arm when it tried to grab him, before he pulled back on the arm controllers, grabbed the Barbatos' longsword and slammed it down on its nape.

Pulling out the Blade, Mikazuki moved around the arm controllers and huffed a little. "You're in a good mood today."

Turning this mecha around, he got his MS to backhand slapped a 15 metre with its right manipulator before he slammed the Longsword into through it's neck and into the nape. Pulling the blade out of the dissolving things neck, he pulled up the left leg unit and slammed it back, launching a 5 metre straight out of the hole it came from.

"These make me appreciate the challenge given by Gali Gali," muttered Mika. He then used the free manipulator of the Barbatos to grab the destroyed Wrench Mace. Sheathing the sword on the back of the Gundams back, he held the Mace with both manipulators and activated the booters of Barbatos.

Zooming into a 13 metre, he raised the Mace before he slammed it towards the thing, sending it flying towards a wall towards the northern wall of this place.

* * *

A Garrison looked up while they got civilians were getting evacuated. But a shadow made him look up and he saw a 13 metre Titan flying all the way across the Walls of Maria, Rose, and Sina, landing directly outside the north of Wall Maria. "Whoa."

* * *

Pulling on the right arm, he swept a 10 metre off its feet before slamming the weapon down onto it when it was still falling. Feeling something behind the Barbatos, Mikazuki pulled back on the arm unit controllers of his Gundam, effectively avoiding the grasp of a 15 metre.

Raising the left arm unit of the Barbatos upwards, he sent three 170mm artillery rounds into the things skull, sending it onto its back. Walking his MS towards it, Mikazuki raised the foot of his MS and sent it down onto the neck of the thing, killing it.

After he retrieved the Wrench Mace, Mikazuki heard several cannon shots somewhere in the west sector of this wall. Activating the Gundams thrusters, he sent Barbatos towards the west sector.

* * *

"You fool! What are you aiming at?!"

"We can't hit moving targets with these!" yelled a Survey Corp member who was close to a panic attack. The Titans were slowly, but surely, making their way towards wall Maria, and they definitely didn't have the firepower to keep them away for much longer.

"Who the hell cares?! Just hurry up and load the next round!" yelled his superior.

"I can't!"

But their bickering was cut short when the gate to Wall Maria started to slide down. A few Corps ran for it while others stayed behind to man the cannons.

But that was all stopped when they heard a loud stomp. One which shook the ground from the Shiganshina District all the way to the outer regions of Wall Rose. Those running stopped and looked while those manning the cannons looked up in awe.

What stood before them was a 15 metre tall Titan, but unlike the others it had an odd brownish colour on its body, minus the joints. Also unlike the other Titans who usually walked around lazily, this one stood upright, tall and broad like a manly man... or something like that.

The SCs and Garrison took a step back when the Titan reared back and crouched down low. In a flash, it launched itself forward with a shocking amount of speed.

"What… the hell is it doing?" muttered a shocked RC. But he quickly got over it. "Fire!"

And with that, several rounds were fired, but the shots didn't even pierce its 'skin', doing nothing to slow its charge. Hell, some shots would miss, somehow.

"It's not working!" exclaimed a SC, pointing out the obvious.

"Shit! Run!" suggested another as the Corps turned and hauled ass towards the closing gates.

"Hurry!" yelled the commander of the group. "The Titans are coming! Close the gate! HURRY! CLOSE THE GATE!"

* * *

When Mikazuki got Barbatos to the source of the commotion, all he noticed was another massive hole south of the Wall. Deciding to check it out, he hovered his MS towards the extra hole in the Wall.

Inside, he saw some old fashioned houses, some broken down from the debris falling on them.

"Hmph. Wonder what did this…" muttered Mikazuki before he turned the head sensors of the Barbatos to the left. He saw a brownish 15 metre walking towards a large group of humans. Checking the Wrench Mace, Mika realized the Wrench section of the mace could still open and close. "Good."

* * *

Staring up at this 'Armoured Titan', the Survey Corps, Garrisons and civilians were cowering in their boots as it approached, each step shaking the ground. The Corps and Garries were all hesitant to attack it after it tore down the Wall (and after it resisted several cannon shots to the body, making them believe that their blades would do nothing more than tickle it), but a kid yelled out at them.

"What are you waiting for?!" The Corps turned and saw the kid called Eren Jaeger yell at them. "You said if this happened, you'd do your job!"

But the Corps were still hesitant to attack. They only watched in terror as it raised its left arm, ready to strike. Most civilians and Corps closed their eyes, ready for the sweet embrace of death.

...

But it never came. Some Corps and civilians opened their eyes, and those who didn't close their eyes were looking up in shock. Some took notice of the pieces of light grey metal wrapped around the sides of the Titans arm were two pieces of light grey scraps.

But what almost everyone was focusing on was a nearly 19 metre tall White Titan. Before anyone could even move, the White Titan swung its arms, and in turn the weapon which held the A-T, sideways, releasing the clamps of its weapon at the last second and sending the Armoured one flying back.

It looked towards the group with its light green eyes which made them freeze up with fear. But it then turned around, crouched down and hovered away.

"What just happened?!" exclaimed a Garrison.

* * *

Atop the massive Wall Rose (or Trost, depending on what you prefer), SC members Hanji Zoe, Erwin Smith and Keith Shadis were looking down at the battle between the "White" Titan and the new "Armoured" Titan. Whilst Keith and Erwin looked on with straight faces, Hanji was letting her inner geek take over, which really annoyed Levi.

"ARE YOU GUYS SEEING THIS OR AM I HALLUCINATING?!" she yelled, her eyes with stars in them as she placed her hand on her cheeks.

"No, you aren't hallucinating Hanji," replied Erwin as the White Titan swung its mace like weapon at the Armoured one. The impact sent it crashing into Wall Maria, creating a large dent in it.

"Whatever it is, it's definitely strong…" commented Keith as it ducked a punch from the Armoured one and kicked it in the stomach region.

"WE HAVE TO GET A CLOSER LOOK!" yelled Hanji as Erwin pinched his nose and sighed.

"Didn't you already take a closer look, Hanji?"

"BUT!" started Hanji before a shorter man grabbed her ear and pulled her down to him.

"Shut it brainiac," he said, not letting go.

"Awh… come on Levi…" complained Hanji, looking back down at the fight.

* * *

Sidestepping the Barbatos, Mikazuki launched the Wrench Mace's towards the armoured being. The strike shattered the brownish armour and sent it flying back to the broken wall, denting it and kicking up dust. It suddenly sprung from the dust and attempted to punch the Barbatos, only for it's fist to be caught in the manipulator of the Gundam.

With incredible speed and strength, Mikazuki launched the free manipulator at its stomach and cracked the armour, with bits of it falling off. It flinched in pain and backed away from the Barbatos for about a second, but a second was enough for Mikazuki to Falcon Pawnch it right in the head. The punch destroyed the armour on the head and sent it stumbling back, though it kept it's footing.

Seeing it with it's defences down, Mika launched the Barbatos forward and kicked it right in the chest, breaking the abdomen armour and sending it flying back. It went tumbling until it came to a stop when it was outside the hole in the wall. Through all the darn dust it kicked up, Mika saw that it was running off. He would pursue it, but an on screen alert blared up and he turned the Barbatos.

Just in time to dodge the cannonball fired at the Gundam.

Glancing up, Mika zoomed in on the top of the Wall which had no hole in it and saw that there were a few guards (possibly) manning a cannon like weapon and aiming at him. When the Gundam looked at them, green eyes bright and powerful looking, they began cowering in fear, and even more so when he turned the thing towards them.

But one of them was not shaking in fear, instead she seemed to be… scolding them? It seemed like it, as she was screaming at them. And it took Mika a second of two to realize that it was that bespectacled girl who told him how to beat them human eaters. She seemed to sense the gaze of Barbatos/Mika and looked at him with a wide smile which sent a subtle chill up his spine.

He was pulled back to reality when another cannonball was fired, one which he easily dodged. When he did, he launched the Barbatos to the left and began zipping over to the sides, looking up at the wall. Though it was probably impossible for one of those things to scale it, Mika knew that the Barbatos' boosters could let him scale it easily.

"Guess I know where's my next stop," said Mikazuki, forming a plan to infiltrate the Wall.

* * *

 **Ah that was pretty fun to write...**

 **Well, that took a while. I told ya I'd rewrite it, didn't I? Honestly I thought it'd take longer but apparently not. So yeah, until next time.**


	5. Opening up

**Wassssup. And there i lost ya. But if ya stayed with me after that beginning, welcome to ze chapter 4, or 5 if you count the prologue as a chapter. This ain't gonna have much Barbatos and will be about 80% montage through the events after the Fall of Shiganshina**

 **So ye. Enjoy.**

* * *

 _ **Year 845, three days after the fall of the Shiganshina District**_

In the silent night within Wall Trost, a certain light from a dilapidated barn in an abandoned side of the area sliced right through the darkness.

Within the barn was Mikazuki Augus, sitting in front of a small fire he lit up a short while prior and leaning against the Barbatos' leg unit. Sighing, he tugged on his Tekkadan jacket, which he brought along with him during the final battle by stuffing it under the control panel, to try and reduce the coldness he felt.

On a side note, just imagine Mika with his Tekkadan jacket, or any other towel thing, wrapped around him. That's what he looks like right now. But imagine how cute that'd be. It'd be like Junior High Armin, just without the odd proportions and a little less smol.

As he stared into the admittedly beautiful flame which he created, Mika remembered how he got the Barbatos inside Wall "Rose". Or to be more specific, Trost.

* * *

 **During the last few phases of the Fall of Maria, at night**

 _Piloting his Gundam Frame, Mikazuki looked upwards, where the cannons atop Trost kept their cannons trained on him. While it would be easy to just fly in, he didn't want to rile up the people inside the Wall as they'd probably try and hunt the thing down, and Mika would rather have that not happen._

 _After a few minutes of searching, he found an area without cannons, probably because it was an abandoned side of Trost._

 _Once he he kicked a 5 metre titan behind him who foolishly tried to get the jump on him, he contracted the Barbatos' spine units down, before springing it upwards, with help from the seven thrusters, launching the Barbatos straight over the Wall._

 _Activating the skirt and back thrusters to slow his descent, the Barbatos landed onto the ground gently (as gently as a 18.8 metre and 30.5 ton MS can, anyways). Crouching the Gundam in order to avoid detection, Mikazuki killed the lights in the Barbatos' optics and the power icons on the chest and knees._

 _"Hello? Who's there?" asked a soft voice. Mikazuki noticed a small light source approaching. Turning the head unit of the Barbatos, he saw a massive grove of trees. He quickly piloted the Gundam there and hid his MS._

 _From the shadows, a kid about a head shorter than him emerged, a torch the size of her head in hand. Mikazuki zoomed in on the child, taking note of the black hair she had, tied up in two bangs at her neck._

 _"Mina," came a female voice voice from behind the girl, apparently known as Mina. she sounded older, possibly her mother._

 _"Oh. sorry, mum!" replied "Mina" as he turned. She took one last glance back, and coincidentally stared right at the Barbatos, though the darkness kept her from noticing it._

 _Once she left, Mikazuki waited for a short while to make sure she was gone before he stood the Gundam Frame up into a kneeling position and snuck around. As he did, he noticed several light sources which he willingly avoided. Finally, after about an hour, he located an abandoned barn which was nearly 20 metres in length and breadth._

 _Thankfully, the roof was torn off, most likely from years of neglect, giving him an easy way to get in._

* * *

And that basically led him here. In the second day of him being in 'Trost', Mika took a slight walk through the pace to get used to his new surroundings, and mainly because he had a feeling that he could not get was never a science guy, so he wasn't going to bother with theories or to experiment. He just accepted, with a lot of uncharacteristic sadness, that he would never see his friends and family again.

Sighing, Mika turned his head to face the Gundam Frame. The MS was broken and beaten after the fight with the Graze Ein, leaving the Barbatos damaged rather severely. The largest part of the outer frame which was damaged was probably the arm units. There were plenty of scratches on the units, probably because he kept using the arm 'shield' things to block Ein's strikes whenever he didn't have time to use the Wrench Mace, which was over by the side alongside the Longsword.

Despite the fact that he had no clue how to check, Mika knew that the Barbatos was damaged internally as well, as when he connects to the MS while operating it, he could feel most of the damage the Barbatos felt and could even tell if an the Ahab Reactors power was off balance. When he was plugged in, he felt that several internal pipes were combusted, thousands of mini screws were knocked out of place, and the Nanolaminated Armour was not holding up, as most of the white NL armour began to scratch off, revealing a scratched up grey paint job below all that white, red, blue and gold.

Though the more noticeable damaged parts was the gold antenna. The V Fin was broken off in his fight against the **ASW-G-66T** _Kimaris Trooper_ , revealing the grey inner frame antenna of the Gundam Frame. Not to mention how the gold was scratched off, making the Barbatos seem less regal than usual. Though to be fair, it didn't look too royal before it became the Lupus.

Usually a member of the Turbines or Old Man Yuki would repair the Gundam as they had more knowledge on the Frame of Mobile Suits, but they weren't here. He would try to repair it, but he wasn't knowledgeable enough about the Frame to try to fix it. Hell, he didn't even know how to properly use a screwdriver. The best he could do was paint on the Nanolaminated paint. And that was there the Tekkadan logo on the forearm came from.

There was also a slight glitch in the Barbatos' system. It was something Mika noticed when he arrived, but it was so subtle that he dismissed it as him being stressed.

Pulling on his jacket, Mika groaned uncomfortable, closing his eyes and thinking of his predicament. A predicament he outright hated, something rare for him as he never fully hated something.

The thing he hated the most was the lack of a sense of belonging. Back at Tekkadan, Mika felt like he belonged there. Here, he didn't have that feeling, which was something he was not used to.

But something which he hated almost as much was the fact that he was _missing_ a few of his friends/family. Though he has had this feeling before, it was probably multiplied by ten in this Hellhole as he knew that he had no way of seeing his friends or family again.

While he thought of Tekkadan, he felt an odd feeling build up in his chest, primarily his stomach, primarily when he thought of Atra or Orga, and at times Kudelia. He was a little familiar with the feeling as he has felt that a few times back at Tekkadan, though it was rare.

Despite that, he has been feeling this for quite a while during the time he was here, and from what he knew, it was what Kudelia-San called 'butterflies in one's stomach'. Though Mika didn't consider them butterflies, more of moths or wasps. Though Atra's description was much different, as she called it worry or a large feeling of despair.

He was more willing to believe the latter.

Still, despite the many downsides of this predicament, there was one good thing which spawned from this unfortunate event, and that was his sense of self dependence. Without Orga or anyone else to instruct him, Mika slowly grew to make decisions on his own, something which took Mika a while to get used to.

As he thought about some trivial guff, Mika felt something wet flow down his cheek. Raising his hand to his cheek, he wiped the wet thing off, thinking that it was starting to rain or something. But instead, he found that the water was coming from somewhere else.

After a second of thinking, Mika blank, and he felt some water in his eyes. Confused, he rubbed his eyes, and found them to be watery. "I'm… crying?" muttered Mika, a little baffled as he's never cried before now, and the feeling was odd.

Raising his hand in front of his face, Mika gave a deep sigh before clenching it.

' _Am I just getting soft…?'_ thought the boy as he closed his eyes.

* * *

 _ **Year 845, 6 days after the fall of ze wall**_

A few days after the wall broke, the refugees from Maria/Shiganshina, including Mikazuki who was apparently thought to be a resident of Shiganshina, and a few volunteers from Trost were sent to cultivate land to secure food.

While everyone was grumbling about how worthless this was, Mikazuki was smiling a little, the first positive emotion he's shown during his six days here.

It was more or less due to the fact that he always wanted to work in a farm, and he kind of does, considering the fact that he has worked in Miss Sakura Griffon's farm on occasion. He did quite enjoy working there, though he was curious if the farm could grow something other than corn.

And this experience did satiate his curiosity, as a farm could apparently grow stuff called 'carrots', 'watermelon' and some other stuff. So he supposed that his new life was not gonna be too bad as he may learn some stuff on the occupation he wished to have when he grows up.

However, on his second day there, Mika couldn't help but notice he was being stared at by a few small groups of people. Turning, he saw them avert their gaze, possible because of his icy cold stare which was probably colder than the north pole. He was confused at first, but soon guessed that it was the Alaya Vijnana port he had on his back.

In an effort to minimize people staring at the port, Mika used the connector thing to mask it. Though it did hide it, sorta, he still did gain some attention, as a silver dome on a person's back would definitely attract some attention, though probably not as much as three spines on his back.

Admittedly, he wasn't used to having the connector on his back 24/7. Back at Tekkadan, pretty much everyone but Ol' Man Yuki had one, so it wasn't out of the norm to see members with the Alaya Vijnana.

Except Atra, of course. But Atra doesn't need no Alaya Vijnana. She's perfect on her own.

But he supposed this was a different world and they weren't used to this. As he thought of the trivial things of this odd world, a slight yell caught his attention, a sound which was a little like a girl who was about to fall on her butt. Whirling around, he caught a girl by the wrist as before she landed on the soil.

"Oh… uh…" started the girl, apparently embarrassed as Mikazuki pulled her upright. "Thanks!"

"Mmm," replied Mikazuki in his normal expressionless face, before something clicked in his head as he examined her further, only to realize that he knew her, not personally but he seen the girl once.

And if memory served him correctly, she was known as Mina Carolina, the girl he saw when he first arrived. Aside from those pigtails, Mika noticed those grey eyes and greenish clothes and dark grey skirt.

Shifting awkwardly, most likely because of Mika staring at her, she looked up at Mika. "So…," she started, making Mika snap out of his trance and look at her, and she had an oddly friendly smile on her face. "What's your name?"

That was new. From what he could remember, only members of what used to be CGS and Kudelia asked him that question.

Apparently, Mika looked a little stoned, as Mina stared at him a little weirdly. He was snapped out of it when the girl waved her hand in front of his face. "Huh, oh. I'm Mikazuki Augus."

"Nice name, I'm Mina Caroline," she replied with a smile. Mikazuki nodded, unenthused, before grabbing a corn and pulling it off its corb. As he did, he couldn't help but notice Mina staying rather close.

"Shouldn't you be with a friend?" he asked, glancing at her.

"They're not here yet," replied Mina, smiling. "Annie always stays behind to help my mother in the house and Nac helps her run errands."

Nodding, Mikazuki tossed the corn into a nearby basket. "Than why're you here with with me, shouldn't you be in some… meeting place or with some… other friends?"

Mina shook her head. "Nah. We don't have any real meeting places. And besides, they're my only friends."

"I see…" replied Mika, a relating quite a bit since, when he was younger, he never had any friends other than Orga. And thanks to that thought, Mika had yet another 'Calamity War Flashback' face.

Seeing Mikazuki blank out again, Mina waved a hand in front of his face. "Hey, you alright?"

"Huh… I'm ok," replied Mika, shaking his head. "Just remembering that I'm not as lucky at you…"

"Oh, how so?"

"You actually have a friend. I had a friend once, until he…" started Mika, trailing off to find the correct word. "Left me…"

That was technically not a lie, though it was backwards, since it was technically Mika who left Tekkadan, not the other way around.

"Oh…" was what came out of Mina's mouth when she heard that as Mikazuki bent down and picked up a corn which fell onto the floor. She then snapped her fingers, earning Mika's attention when he. "Why don't you be our friend?"

"Huh?" asked Mika, a little taken aback by the question. He then blank and got rid of the odd look on his face.

"No one deserves to be alone, ya know?" asked Mina with a genuinely sweet smile. "And besides, you seem like a nice guy so far."

"You serious…?" asked Mika, quirking an eyebrow up, mainly because almost no one has ever said that to him, minus Atra.

"Why wouldn't I be?" she asked in a cheerful tone, extending a hand. "You gonna take the offer?"

Looking at her hand, he contemplated if he should accept her friendship. He could take advantage of her and this "Annie" and "Nac" duo. But still, Mina didn't seem like she had any other motives. And besides, Mika was not one to try and take advantage of others, mainly because he didn't like doing such a thing as it weighed down on what little conscience he had.

Also, he was still not used to this place. So perhaps a companion or two could help him in that area.

Lifting his hand up close to his face, he stared at it and back to Mina. And after a second, he let a small smile appear on his face before he grabbed the smaller hand of Mina. "Whoa…"

"Hmm?" Mikazuki looked at Mina with a raised eyebrow, a little confused as to why she had a rather stunned look.

"Your hands are pretty big…"

"I seem to get that a lot," he replied, remembering something , side arming the corn into a basket. He turned back to Mina, who had stars in her eyes for some unknown reason. "What?"

"THAT WAS AMAZING!" replied Mina, making Mikazuki flinch and several people to look at them. But still, he couldn't help but smile at her reaction, before he unknowingly raised a hand up and rested it on her cheek.

"Uh… Mika, what are you doing?" asked Mina, her face heating up as her eyes widened a tin bit.

Shaking his head, he slid his hand back down and looked at it. "I dunno…"

But inside, he felt a weird sensation in his chest. _'Maybe I am getting soft…'_

* * *

On the fifth day since he met Mina Carolina, Mika found that he was growing a little fond of the younger girl. When they first met, Mina acted a little immature and hot headed, but as he spoke to her more, mainly because he wanted to keep boredom away, he found that the girl was actually quite the wistful thinker, wondering what was beyond the Walls which barricaded them from the outside.

Another thing he noticed was that she was seemingly growing a little attached to him as well, as the girl always made sure she always met him at the same place and at the same time. When Mika asked why, she said that it was impolite to keep friends waiting. And he didn't know why, but he got a rather warm feeling in his chest when she said that.

On the seventh day, Mina asked a rather personal question.

"Mika?" began Mina, making Mika look at her.

"Hm?"

"I was wondering… do you have parents?" she asked, blinking curiously.

"No," replied Mika flatly, his hair casting a shadow over his eyes.

"Eh?!" proclaimed Mina, widening her eyes. Mika simply looked at her blankly for a second before he went back to work. And after a second or two, Mina shook her head and asked another question.

"W-well… where do you live?" she asked, a little concerned.

"Homeless," replied Mika, not intending to tell her about the Barbatos. Though he wish he did a second later.

"What?!" proclaimed Mina, eyes wide and mouth agape. And Mika would by lying if he didn't say that he didn't flinch. "But… perhaps…"

"What?" asked Mika, not looking at her, a little curious.

"You could live with me!" finished Mina, earning herself a raised eyebrow from Mika. "What?"

"Are you sure?" asked Mika, a little baffled that she'd even suggest that.

"Of course!" replied Mina with a smile. "My mother likes to have other people in the house! And besides, Nac is the only boy in the home, so another one might help lighten the mood."

"But I'm an orphan," pointed out Mika, ripping a corn out of it's corb.

"Well… so is Annie," retorted Mina. "And she lived with me."

"So you're used to an Orphan living with you?" asked Mika.

"Mmhm," replied Mina. "And in a way, Annie is the girl version of you."

"Meaning?"

"She acts like you," explained Mika. "Not that talkative, but a little friendly."

"...sure," said Mika.

"So… you accept?" asked Mina hopefully.

"...why not," answered Mika. And with that said, Mina gave the second cutest fistpump he's ever seen, only a little less cute than Atra's.

"Alright! I'll bring you to my home after our work is done!" said Mina with a smile.

"Ah…"

And little did he know, that one decision was probably the best thing he did in this Hellhole, well… second best as his best was probably befriending little Carolina.

* * *

 **Hours later**

Yawning a little, Mika rubbed his eye as Mina led him to her humble abode, or as other people call it, a house.

And when they were there, Mika could only blink at the rather small, when compared to Tekkadan's HQ, structure made of brick/stone and supported up by wooden planks. The thing was near the Wall of Rose.

While the thing was pathetic when compared to Tekkadan HQ or the Isaribi, it was definitely much better than the barn he unwillingly called 'home'.

"What do you think?" asked Mina, tilting her head.

"It's nice," replied Mika, making Mina smirk a little proudly.

"Well, let's not stand on ceremony," suggested Mina as she opened the door. "After you."

"Ah," muttered Mika as he walked in. Inside was a little more welcoming as the outside, though not by much. It was rather stuffy inside, but it did resemble a house, with the tables, chairs and so on. "Nice place…"

"Thanks!" thanked Mina with a smile. As she did, however, an older woman walked in from a separate room.

She was probably as tall as Chocolate Man and looked like Mina, only a lot older, probably in the age of 30 to 34. Her hair, unlike Mina's, was tied up in a bun and her eyes were just a shade darker than hers.

"Welcome home, Mina," greeted the woman, walking towards them. When she was close enough, she patted Mina's head, ruffling up her hair. "Is this your new boyfriend?"

"EH?!" proclaimed Mina, her face reddening while Mika just raised an amused eyebrow. "N-NO!"

As Mina blushed and waved her hands in front of her face, the woman chuckled softly. "You must be Mikazuki Augus, am I not wrong?"

"How do you know?" asked Mika flatly, making the lady chuckle.

"My daughter tells me about you everyday," stated the woman who was Mina's mother. "She's like that, telling me all about her new friends."

"Ah," muttered Mika.

"So, why have you brought Mr Augus here?" asked Miss Carolina with a motherly smile.

"Well…" began Mina, twiddling her fingers. "Mika's homeless… and…"

"You wish for him to live with us?" asked Miss Carolina.

"Well… yeah," said Mina, whispering the 'yeah' part.

Nodding slowly, Miss Carolina glanced at Mika, rubbing her chin. Mika couldn't really tell what she was thinking, but he assumed she was going to decline, until a smile snaked it's way onto her face.

"Of course he can, we do need more boys in the family, after all," said Miss Carolina with a gentle smile, making Mika feel an odd fuzzy feeling in his tummy.

And that feeling was dispelled when Mina fist pumped and gave a loud "YES!". As she thanked her mother with a hug, Mika simply huffed silently and allowed a small smile make it's way onto his face.

This would most definitely be interesting.

* * *

 **A month later**

"She's excited, isn't she?"

"Yeah… she is."

"Awh, come on Annie!" proclaimed Mina as she mixed a bowl of batter vigorously. From what he knew, she was baking a cake for her mother, since it was her birthday or something.

Currently, Mika and the girl known as Annie were watching Mina mix a large ass bowl of batter with a wooden spoon with inhuman speed. "Hey, Mika?" muttered Annie, looking to him.

"Hm?"

"Where's Nac?"

Opening his mouth, Mika was about to answer, until the door slammed open, and Nac himself came in, a large bag of flour in his arms. Brisk walking over, Annie and Mika gave him some assistance in heaving it onto a table.

"Took you long enough!" proclaimed Mina, smiling as she opened the bag.

"It's your fault for using so much flour!" shot Nac, his face comically angry looking.

As Mina chuckled in embarrassment softly, with Annie staring at them, Mika closed his eyes and took a slight sigh, thinking back a little.

Ever since he was invited here, Mika's nights have definitely been more comfortable, though at the cost of not being able to see the Barbatos much. Still, he would every once in awhile he'd go off on his own to that barn he used to call home to check on it, and it would still be in the normal position it always has been in, kneeling there, though with a little rust and both Ahab Reactors output at a lower amount.

Yet those visits have grown fewer and further thanks to Mina, who introduced him to a few of her friends.

Annie Leonhart was a short girl, about a head and a quarter below him, even shorter than Mina. That was kinda funny to Mika, though he kept it to himself. Atop her head was a forest of pale blonde hair. Mina suggested that she cut it, but Annie declined the offer. Aside from hair problems, Annie had clear blue eyes which were about a shade or two lighter than his, and a rather prominent nose which could rival SoFloAntonio's.

In contrast, Nac Tias was a tall bloke, a full head over Orga, with black hair swept backwards and medium brown eyes and a normal nose.

When the three first met, Nac was the only one who greeted Mika properly, while Annie regarded him coldly, though he was a little used to it, considering all the cold looks he used to get back at his home.

Nac was an oddly friendly kid, somehow more so than Orga, always speaking to friends with a smile. And when he met Mika, Nac gladly became his friend and spoke to him quite often, much to Mika's annoyance as he prefered to be in more silent areas, minus the battlefield. Yet, after a week of enduring Nac's over friendly nature, Mika ended up giving in and speaking to the boy, and he didn't really regret it, seeing as it lowered his boredom levels.

And if he were honest, he did enjoy listening to Nac speak about the outside world and showed him his notes., mainly because he hardly knew a thing about it. And aside from the topics of the outside, Mika learnt that Nac was apparently also an orphan, though he was adopted by a woman called Ms Tias, who was quite the nice lady.

Annie, on the other hand, was rather cold towards him when they first met, often ignoring him or staying well away from the boy. But overtime, Annie seemed to warm up to him, probably something to do with Mina and Nac insisting that she at least spoke to him, or because she grew used to seeing him everyday.

After a few weeks, Annie eventually started speaking to him. It was mainly small talk which were on odd topics, like the Wall Religion or how confining it was to be here. Yet Annie did seem to enjoy speaking about those topics, and eventually got used to the boy, up to the point of considering him a 'friend'.

Hell, when she found out that Mika couldn't read or write, she offered to teach him. And she somehow trudged through Mika's low intelligence, on the topic of reading and writing anyways, and managed to teach him some words, like 'apple' or 'Survey Corps'. I mean, it only took two hours to get 'apple' into his head.

Also, unexpectedly, he learnt that the Barbatos has apparently become a legend of sorts whispered around the region of Rose, mainly by survivors of the Fall of Maria. It gave him an uncharacteristic sense of pride, if only for a second.

"Mika?" came a voice which kicked him out of his thoughts, making Augus blink and turn to Mina. "You ok? You spaced out for a moment."

"Ah…" replied Mika with a nod. "Just thinking about some things."

"Right!" said Mina with a smile as she tossed the batter into the oven. "So… how long till the thing's done, Nac?"

"Probably an hour," answered Nac. "Probably enough time."

"Alright then!"

* * *

 **A couple of hours later**

Standing outside Mina's home, Mika stared up wistfully at the moon, ignoring the merry song of 'Happy birthday' inside the place. Though admittedly, he did listen in as he never heard the song before.

Even though a birthday was supposed to be a happy day, Mika never did get why a person would celebrate the day where they were one day closer to dying, but he didn't want to ruin Mina, Nac and Annie's happy mood. Well, Annie wasn't necessarily happy, as she was just there out of obligation.

After a while of looking up, Mika heard someone coming up behind him. Turning, he saw Annie approaching the boy, a cup of water in her hands.

"You seem fond of the moon," said Annie flatly, passing Mika the cup. In return, he passed her a raisin.

"It's my namesake," replied Mika, glancing at the girl who had an eyebrow raised. "Mikazuki roughly translates to moon."

"Really?" asked Annie, a little bewildered that he knew what moon meant in another language, but not how to read/write. "What language?"

"I don't know," said Mika honestly. And Annie seemed to get that he didn't know either, mainly because he didn't even know too much English. With that settled, the two simply gazed up at the moon for several minutes, before Mika asked Annie a slight question. "Do you find this weird?"

"What's weird?" asked Annie.

"That we willingly let ourselves be confined in these walls," said Mika, turning to face Annie. "That we don't try to leave?"

That question genuinely surprised Annie, as Mika's questions on the walls were all rather basic, regarding stuff like thickness or cannons, not about why they never bothered to leave.

"We _are_ trying," replied Annie, blinking at him. "But since the Fall of Maria, it has become much harder for the Survey Corps."

"Survey Corps?" asked Mika, tapping his chin. "The people with the weird gear…?"

"Yeah, they're the Corps," replied Annie. "Why'd you ask, anyways? You wanna see the outside world?"

"Kind of…" answered Mika. "It gets boring inside this place. The outside might be less so."

"If you want," started Annie. "You can always join the Trainee Corps."

"Trainee Corps?" asked Mika, again.

Annie only nodded. "The Trainee Corps are taught by higher ups on the basics of Titan killing and survival. When they graduate, they have a choice of going to either the Survey Corps, Garrison or Military Brigade.

"Survey Corps are those who travel beyond the walls to try and retake the land, Garrison are responsible for looking over the Walls, and the Military Police Brigade members are policemen who reside in the inner Walls of Sina."

"I see," muttered Mika.

"Me, Nac and Mina intend to join at the end of the year," continued Annie. "It would be nice if you joined us."

Quirking his brows up, Mika stared at the girl for a moment, before he nodded. "Sure."

"Now, let's head in," suggested Annie. "We won't want to miss some cake."

"Ah," was her reply. "I'll be with you in a while."

"Suit yourself," said Annie as she walked in. Once she was gone, however, Mika looked down at his hand.

 _'Maybe I am getting soft,'_ he thought, before flashing a smile. 'I don't really mind, though...'

* * *

 **Elsewhere, billions (or more) of light years away from where this story takes mainly place**

Gjallarhorn... the 'governments' who ran most of the solar system (well, just Mars and Earth if we're being honest. Jupiter is less controlled than the others).

Founded somewhere around 300 years ago by a man known as Agnika Kaieru. It was intended to be a peace keeping organization, something which protected the people. Though that vision of his did go a _tad_ bit askew... and that tad change of course made Gjallarhorn go waaaaaay off course and become basically the opposite of what they wanted to be.

Just think of any oppressive government in an anime and you're basically on track.

Though the way Gjallarhorn higher ups, known as the Seven Stars, ran the places they had control over were not unnoticed. Mainly Mars, where they tried to kill Ms Kudelia Aina Bernstein who advocated for what you'd call 'Mars equality'. Among those who took notice was a Gjallarhorn Commando, _Mcgillis Fareed_ , a new Seven Star member of Gjallarhorn.

The blonde was definitely a deceptive chump. He pretty much used the organization, Tekkadan, to kill off major players of the Seven Stars, such as _Gaelio Bauduin_ and _Carta Issue_ and even managed to give his father, _Iznario Fareed_ , thus gaining the 7S position for himself.

On a normal day, he'd be thinking of ways to improve Gjallarhorn, but he was doing something different today.

Instead, he was looking through some footage of the battle between the Barbatos Sixth Form and Graze Ein, footage taken through Grimegerde's mono eye on a mountain of Edmonton.

Taking the footage and showing the other Gjallarhorn members, they only dismissed the footage as the Graze Ein imploding and taking the Barbatos with it, with the Ahab reactors of the Gundam stabilizing the explosion, but Mcgillis wasn't convinced. If the G-Ein really exploded, there would at least be something to salvage. But there was nothing, not even a crater.

And after reviewing the footage, tampering with it multiple times and doing some extensive research on missing Gundam Frames, he finally realized what really happened.

"The combined power of an overloaded Ahab reactor and Stabilized reactor would only cancel each other out, but the combined power of an overloaded reactor and two stabilized reactors can create something akin to a miniature black hole. The hole only lasts for a few seconds and leaves when the Ahab source leaves as well," he deduced. "You have my thanks Tekkadan. You may have just revolutionized the world"

He then looked up at the sky, thinking. "But this could also mean that the Barbatos is still out there…"

* * *

 **So somehow, in my little Editing parade, I turned this from a 3399 word chapter to a 5637 word one… how does that happen? I dunno.**

 **Anyways, see ya.**


	6. Welcome to the Corps

**I'm just gonna upload another chapter to make up for the short previous one. So this one's gonna be the Survey Corp arc.**

 **Not much else to say but for me to ask or you to enjoy**

 **Side note; Sasha was the best part of writing this chapter**

* * *

 _One year after ze Colossal Titan blew down the wall_

"You are now officially members of the training unit number 104!"

That snapped Mikazuki out of his trance. Shaking his head a little, he looked forward, hands behind his back, at the dude who was yelling at them, some tanned baldy who had dark bags under his eyes.

Anyways, if that first line didn't tell you already, our four main pals were now officially members of the 104th Trainee Brigade, those training to become soldiers. About five months prior, Mina pitched the idea of becoming soldiers to Ms Carolina, and that look on her face was something the three never forgot.

After three months of helping Mina beg her mother to let them join, with Nac wanting to join to be of use to the soldiers, while Annie and Mika helping just because they wanted to be with Mina. And after assuring Ms Carolina that they'd be careful, the woman signed them up.

At the moment, Mina was somewhere in front of him, Annie was somewhere to his right, and Nac was somewhere behind him.

Anyways… back to the story.

"Unfortunately for you, I, Keith Shardis (who starred in the best scene in the entire anime), will be in charge. I'm not here to give you maggots a warm welcome, all of you are livestock, only waiting to be eaten by the Titans! No, you're even worse than livestock!"

As Keith rambled on about training them "useless shits" how to fight the Titans, Mikazuki listened with the same amount of enthusiasm as he would when he listens to Old Man Yuki talk about the Barbatos' parts. Hell, halfway into his speech, he nearly dozed off until a small, and weak, voice was heard. "Sir!"

Mikazuki diverted his eyes to a kid who shorter than him. The guy had blonde hair atop his round, feminine face with blue expressive eyes topped with brown eyebrows. Though his voice was small, it held a lot of determination in it. "Who are you?!"

"Armin Arlert from the Shiganshina District, sir!"

"Is that so? What a ridiculous name!" yelled Keith. "Did your father call you that?!"

"My grandfather did, sir!"

"Arlert, what did you come here to do?"

"To contribute to mankind's victory, sir!" yelled Armin in a loud tone, surprising a few of them.

"How commendable of you," started Keith. "We'll use you as Titan bait. Third line, face backwards!"

And with that he placed his hand on Armin's head before flipping him around 360 degrees. He went on and on with this, with Mikazuki not really caring, giving his blank expression all the way. Surprisingly, Keith ignored him. Probably the expression.

He nearly blanked once more out until he heard a loud thud noise. Turning, he saw Keith standing over a light ash brown haired kid who was a lot taller than him with a "horse face", if you will. The guy was crouched over, holding his head in pain.

"Who said you could sit?!" roared Keith. "Someone who can't succeed here won't make it into the Military Police Brigade!"

As the horse held his head in pain, Keith marched over to the next dude, Marco Bott of Jinae Village from south of Rose. A little curious as to what he'd ask, Mikazuki started listening a little.

"I've come to enlist myself in the Military Police Brigade and devote myself to serving the kind, sir!" yelled Marco enthusiastically. While he looked rather happy, Mika could practically see the beads of sweat shining off Marcos forehead.

"Really?" replied Keith in a low and dangerous tone which made Marco's smile falter. "That's all fine and well, endeavor for it…"

That really surprised the Trainees, until Keith continued. "However…" he continued, inching close to Marco, "The king has no desire for your body."

When he was done with Marco, he turned to a kid with a shaved head and very round face. "You're next, who the Hell are you?!"

The kid who was somewhere around Mikas height quickly held his left fist over his heart.

"Connie Springer from Ragako Village of the South district of Wall Rose, sir!"

As he spoke, Keith zoned into his hand. And right when he finished, Keith grabbed both sides of his head and lifted him up to eye level.

"You have it backwards, Connie Springer. It should've been the first thing you learnt… that salute is a symbol that openly declares your determination to offer your life. Is your heart on the right side?!" he demanded, before turning his head to the left.

When he did, there was a look of pure shock on his face. As before him was a dark haired and big eyed girl, munching on a steamed potato. Upon seeing this, Keith dropped Connie like he was dead weight, sending dust upwards, and turned to the girl. "Hey, you, what are you doing?"

At first, the girl looked around, thinking he meant someone else before taking another bite, until Keith appeared in front of her and literally roared in her face. " _YOU,_ I'M TALKING TO YOU!"

The sudden shock caused the girl to chew up to potato and swallow it quickly. Following that, she placed her right hand which held the potato onto her chest. "Sasha Blouse from Dauper Village in Wall Rose's southern district, sir!"

"Sasha Blouse… what the hell is that in your right hand?" asked Keith in a low and menacing tone.

"A steamed potato, sir. I happened to see it in the kitchen so I took it, sir!" she replied

"In other words, you _stole_ it. Why did you take the potato out now?"

"It's best to eat it before it gets cold, so I decided now was the time to do so, sir," she replied, causing everyone's blood to freeze, except a certain few, who only raised their brows in amusement.

"No, I still don't understand… why did you eat it?"

Sasha winced slightly before asking; "Are you asking me why people eat potatoes, sir?"

At that point, everyone was staring at her in complete shock, Mikazuki included. But what she did next nearly made half of the Trainees faint. She took the potato and tore off a small segment. Not without regret, she passes it to Keith.

"This half's for you, sir," she said as Keith took it.

"...half?" he asked as Sasha flashed a big, goofy smile.

* * *

 **5 hours later**

"Damn, Potato girl is still at it," announced Connie. "She's been at it for five hours straight."

After that potato incident, Keith got Sasha to run. When she refused, Keith told her that he'd make her skip dinner, which got her on the track, running. And she ran… and ran… and ran some more.

As the Potato girl ran, Armin, Eren, Mina, Marco and Connie, dressed in their normal outfits, watched from their bunker.

As they witnessed Sasha finish her fourtyth lap, Mikazuki walked by, in his normal outfit, and stood beside Mina. They greeted each other before Mika gave her a raisin. "Thanks, Zuki!"

"Zuki?" questioned Mika, looking at her, mainly because that nickname was never really used before..

"Oi, Mina," started Connie. "Who's your boyfriend?"

"AAAH?!" she nearly shrieked. "He's not my boyfriend!"

Connie opened his mouth to speak, but Mikazuki gave him a harsh glare which made him shut up. Seeing tension build up, Mina laughed nervously before she pushed Mika away towards Annie and Nac.

"Hey!" she greeted nervously as she stopped pushing Mika. Nac waved happily at them while Annie just glanced at the two. As Mina zipped over to Annie, chatting happily with her stone faced friend who didn't reply too much, Mika stood beside Nac. Reaching inside his pocket, he grabbed a raisin and passed it to his friend.

"Thanks dude," said Nac, popping it into his mouth. Mika ate one of his own before Nac asked a question. "Hey, Mika. Have you heard of the rumors of a "Mechanical" Titan?"

"Mechanical Titan?" questioned Mika, tilting his head. "Was it white in colour?"

Nac nodded, and Mikazuki confirmed that this "Mechanical" Titan was the Barbatos. As Nac continued on about the Barbatos, saying that it was apparently now known as 'The White Devil of Maria', Mika did realize a few people looking towards them. "Hey, Nac?"

"Yeah?" he asked, stopping his ramble on the Barbatos.

"Why are people staring at us?" he asked, genuinely confused as he scratched his head.

"Probably that," replied Nac, pointing at the Alaya Vijnana connector port on his back. "I don't think anyone's seen a pack like that."

Nodding, Mikazuki agreed with that statement before a big blonde walked over and placed his arms around their shoulders. "Hey there you two!"

As Mika recovered from the sudden force, Nac laughed a little and looked at him. "Even after a year or so, you still know how to make an entrance, Reiner."

"Ha! Glad you know it, Nac!" replied Reiner Braun sarcastically. The teen was huge, probably Akihiro's size and maybe just as tough. Maybe. He had a strong build, and jaw line, and a friendly attitude, not as much as Nac but it was close enough. Mika met the dude a quarter and a half of a year ago when he and Annie went to gather firewood for Mina.

Like Nac, Mika didn't like him too much when they first met. But he slowly came to like the boy and learnt that the guy was one of the most trustworthy people he's met in a long time. But that didn't mean that Mika wasn't going to treat him like any other person who got on his nerves.

"Yeah, you sure do," added Mika, a slight edge in his voice. Before Reiner said anything, a taller teen laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Come on Reiner, you're gonna break something," warned the teen before Reiner sighed and got off the two.

"You're no fun, Bertolt," shot Reiner, giving him a slight punch to his shoulder, making Bert yelp in pain.

"Yeah, but you would break something if you didn't get off them," said Bert after a long while.

Bertolt Hoover, the guy was huge. Probably the tallest person he's met, even from Tekkadan. Despite that tall stature, however, the Hoover Dam was shy person, and, in a word, submissive. Whenever he tried to speak to Mika, he would stutter and jump several words in fear for some reason.

"He has a point…" agreed Mika silently, rotating his aching shoulder. Nac nodded in agreement as Reiner laughed softly.

"Right…" he started, before the bell sounded. "Well, it's dinner!"

With that, Reiner picked up Bertolt, slung him over his shoulder and ran into the bunker. Mina followed suit, picking Annie up and running in. Nac then looked at Mika. "Please don't."

"I won't," he replied, walking into the place.

Inside, the six of them noticed the group surrounding a Trainees table. Reiner and Bertolt shrugged and walked over to a table towards the left. As Mika and Nac looked around for a seat, Mika spotted Mina waving her arm at them. The two walked towards them and sat down parallel towards the girls.

As Nac at his piece and Mina chatted to Annie about the Maneuver Gear, Mikazuki was thinking about the Barbatos, mainly thanks to Nac, who reminded him of his MS just not.

Though he didn't know how to properly fix the Gundam, he did know how to refuel the thrusters. But he would have to get his hands on the 3D-MG first.

"You there, Mika?" asked Nac, snapping his fingers in front of his friend. Mika nodded as he picked up his piece of bread.

"Anyways," continued Mina. "Tomorrow's the day where we start our maneuver gear training!"

Annie and Mika nodded subtly as Nac asked if Mina knew how to use the MG. "Of course I do! I think anyways…"

Nac laughed a little before a both Mika and Annie noticed the guy who got headbutted and a dark brown haired kid around his height walking towards each other. "A fight on the first day?" muttered Mika.

"I hope so," commented Annie with an amused look in her eyes, making Mika glance at her. "A little entertainment wouldn't be too bad."

But her wish was voided when the bell rang. As Jean and Eren made up for the drama they caused, Mika stood up and walked out with his three friends.

* * *

 **An hour or so later**

Laying on his bed, Mikazuki shifted properly so the Alaya-Vijnana system on him back obstruct his sleep. That was when he heard a strange noise. It sounded like someone yelling" "GOD!"

But he quickly dismissed it before falling asleep.

* * *

 **Le next day**

"First off, we'll test your aptitude!" yelled Keith. "Those incapable of this aren't suited to be used, even as decoys! We'll have you transferred to reclaim land!"

From what he could tell, this test was to see if they could hang rightside up from two wires. Of the trainees, a girl with pitch black hair and an emotionless face mastered it on her first try. Others, like Connie, Mina and horseface Jean, took a couple of tries but made it work. Mikazuki took only one try to stay upright, mainly thanks to his experience with the Barbatos.

But still, some people couldn't really get it right. Say, Eren Jaeger, who was hanging upside down like a pinata waiting to be smacked. "What are you doing, Eren Jaeger?! Raise your upper body!"

As Jaeger tried to flip up, Mikazuki stood by the side with Annie while Mina and Nac looked at the upside down dude.

"This is oddly entertaining," admitted Leonhart.

"Agreed," commented Augus.

* * *

 **ze evening**

As Annie, Mina and Nac ate, Nac couldn't help but notice someone was missing. "Hey, where's Mikazuki?"

Looking around, Mina said she had no clue while Annie shugged. They were snapped out of it when Reiner sat down right beside Nac. "Who you looking for, Nac?"

"Definitely not you…" whispered Mina as she bit on her piece of bread.

* * *

 **East of Wall Rose**

Somewhere in the fields in the east of Trost, a silent mechanical figure was kneeling inside an equally silent barn. It's "armour" was covered in many small dents and gouges. But even through the many scratches, it retained its knightly appearance it had from over 305 years ago when it was built.

It was known by the people of this world as the Mechanical Titan who helped the refugees, though it had a name. It was (loosely) modeled after a demon, more specifically the 8th Demon of Ars Goetia, or the Duke known as Barbatos. It was backed up by its codename, **ASW-G-08** , indicating it was the 8th mech in the lineup of the 72 Gundam frames.

The silence of the barn was broken, abiet slightly, when the doors opened and a kid walked in, a piece of bread in hand. "Oi Barbatos," he greeted the mech, getting no response.

Mikazuki only sat down near the knee of the Barbatos, chomping down on his "dinner", a piece of bread, still better than nothing he supposed. Looking upwards, he wondered what the other Tekkadan members were feeling about his disappearance. Out of the short list of people he missed, the one he missed most was Orga.

The guy was like his brother, and the two always stuck together through thick and thin. Hell, Mika would gladly shoot a guy for Orga.

But despite that, he didn't feel too bad about being away. It was probably because he actually had friends in this odd world. Mina and Nac were probably one of the few people who actually asked about friendship. Annie was not as social, but still the two would interact with each other, especially when Mina and Nac started food fights. The two made a great team in the food arena.

And regarding Ms Carolina, or Misa Carolina, Mika did quite like the woman, seeing as she was almost a mother to him, which was more than he could say for Merribit.

Chomping down on his loaf, he wondered if his friends would still like him if Barbatos was inevitably revealed to this world's human race. He didn't know why, but he felt rather frightful if that happened. But he shook his head before he took another bite from his dinner.

Quickly finishing up his piece of bread, Mikazuki stood up and stretched before walking towards the doors to the place.

Before he left, he turned to his Gundam. "I'll see you soon, Barbatos."

And unbeknownst to him, the Gundam's optical units flashed pure green for a split second.

* * *

 **The boys sleeping cabin**

"Please, Mikazuki, you gotta tell me how you do it!"

Mikazuki only sighed in frustration. The moment he re-entered the cabin, Eren fired at him questions upon questions about hanging from the wires, with Armin adding to his questions every now and then. "I don't know, Jaeger… I just do it, and it worked, I guess."

"But there has to be a tactic for you to do it!" fired Eren for the fifth time. While Mikazuki wasn't willing to use his pistol right now, he was really considering it. He once again replied with a negative answer, which only got Eren to ask more. Letting out a frustrated sigh, Mikazuki closed his eyes.

"Look, Eren," said Mika, cutting off the guy. Eren looked at Mikazuki as he opened his eyes, and both he and Armin felt a chill go up their spine. The two could tell he was pretty darn pissed. "I don't know how to tell you this, but it's pretty fucking hard to explain how to hang from two pieces of thin wire, don't you think?"

Eren was about to reply, but shut his mouth out of fear. He nodded and said his thanks before standing to go off to ask someone else. But Mikazuki grabbed his wrist before he could. "But with that said, I do see some potential in you…"

"Really?" asked Jaeger, smiling. Mikazuki nodded, before shooing him off before the kid could blast more questions at him..

Letting out a yawn, Mikazuki laid down on his bed.

* * *

 **Next dey**

Today was the day. If those who didn't pass the Wire trial yesterday didn't make it today, they would be sent back to the fields for Rice picking or Weed whacking duty. Of the few people was Eren Jaeger, who held a very determined look on his face.

Mika and his three friends were currently looking at the dude. Mina and Nac watched, lumps in their throats, while Mika and Annie looked pretty much stoned as they usually do. But their expression changed when Jaeger was lifted up, and for once he stayed up.

When he was fully up and stayed straight, his fellow trainees cheered for the dude, while Mika and Annie just watched in slight amusement, until he flipped over again. The group flinched when he landed hard, and Keith gave a disappointed stare at the kid.

"I-I… I can still…" started Eren, before Keith called Thomas to let him down. Once he got to terra-firma, he fell to his knees, angered and disappointed at himself. "I-I…"

Before he could continue, Keith turned to Thomas. "Wagner, switch belts with Jaeger." Thomas complied and swapped. As they did, Mika raised his eyebrow. He wasn't expecting that.

And before you know it, Eren was back up on the wire, straight up and not falling. "You had defective equipment, the metal fixtures on your belt were damaged," explained Keith, tugging on Eren's former belt. "Though this is the first time I heard of faulty fixtures, it seems there's a need to start checking them during maintenance"

When he finished, many astonished mutters were head about Jaeger being able to stay upright with faulty equipment, even if it was for a bit. When he asked about his aptitude evaluation, Keith said he sees no issue and also for him to devote himself to training.

With that said, Eren raised both arms in the air as his group of friends stared on in awe. Mikazuki only grunted softly.

"Something wrong, Zuki?" asked Nac, clapping.

"Nothing's wrong, Nac," replied Mika, before smiling a tiny bit. "I'm just expecting this to be an interesting couple of years."

* * *

 **Damn i'll admit, the first half of this chapter was pretty fun to write, especially the parts with Sasha Blouse. For whatever reason I was laughing my ass off at those parts. I don't slagging know, but Sasha is just too cute!**

 **Also this chapter was suppose to come up not long after the previous filler chapter, but my computer decided to stop getting working for the night. But still I am using an old laptop so there's that.**

 **So yeah, i'll see ya in the next chapter**

 **Le updated on 28/11/2016**

 **Updated the update on 8/6/2017**


	7. End of their Training

**Just gonna write another chapter for you chaps. The first few paragraphs is gonna be how Tekkadan are handling Mikazuki's loss and the later half is gonna be the normal SnK. So yeah.**

 **So hope y'all enjoy, and have a NG Barbatos for making it this far**

* * *

 **Tekkadan HQ's cafeteria**

"Hey, Atra, what are you you doing?"

Yelping softly. the petite girl with pink hair and an extremely adorable face, also wearing an oversized female Tekkadan outfit which made her 10x more adorable, known as Atra Mixta quickly shot up, hands behind her back. Shaking her head, she blank and saw the new Tekkadan recruit known as Zack looking at her.

Zack was, in short, a smartass. He was a pretty laid back guy with a ridiculous haircut and expression. But he was quite the valued Tekka-member, seeing as he was among the few who had formal education.

"You alright, Miss Mixta?" asked Zack, digging his ear.

"A-Ah, I am," replied Atra with a false smile. Zack raised an eyebrow, not really believing her and about to ask another question, until another Tekkadan member smacked him in the head.

"Oi, Zack," started the newcomer, making Zack turn around, rubbing his head. And he stiffened when he realized that he was just smacked by none other than Eugene Seven Stark, a founding member of Tekkadan. The boy had blonde hair (which is more orange to me, tbh) and green eyes which were now piercing his soul "Don't go bothering Atra now. She's just tired."

"Alright sir," muttered Zack as he grabbed a food pack off the cafeteria counter. When the boy was gone, Eugene turned back to Atra.

"You're thinking about him again, aren't you, Atra?" asked Eugene, his stare softening, and looking genuinely concerned now.

"A-Ah…" replied Atra, looking down. "I keep remembering him… no matter how hard I try to forget…"

"It's alright, Atra," said Eugene, placing a hand on her shoulder. "None of us want to forget him. If we do, we'll forget about the man who brought us so far."

After Atra gave a nod, Eugene said his goodbyes and walked off to assist in the substitute drill sergeant. As he did, Atra packed up the food cartons she preped and carefully made her way to where most of the other boy's were as.

Yet, as she did, Atra couldn't help but continue remembering a certain boy.

Mikazuki Augus. She really liked the guy, probably because he helped her when she was a (younger) kid. But she shook it off as much as she could as she walked to the mobile suit hangar. There, a tall teen with ruffled brown hair waved at her. "Ay! Atra!" he yelled enthusiastically.

"Hey Shino," she greeted back, passing him his lunch. The teen known as Shino thanked her for it before he walked up to his personally customised **STH-16** _Shiden_ , the _Ryusei Go_. After the battle of Edmonton, Shino's original **EB-06/TC2** _Graze Custom 2_ was demolished by the Graze Ein, and he got a replacement about three years ago, thanks to their sister organization known as Teiwaz, who provided IO Shiden Frames for Tekkadan at a large discount.

The Shiden was built by almost entirely from scratch, though it borrowed some things from the other Teiwaz Frames, primarily the **STH-14s** and **STH-05** , or more commonly known as the _Hyakuri_ and _Hyakuren_. Made with a good balance, combat abilities and interchangeable equipment, the Shiden could be considered the most versatile Grunt Suit in the PD timeline, though it is geared more towards group combat.

An IO Frame Shiden would wield many weapons. The first batch of IO Frames wielded a **JEE-205 130mm** _Assault Rifle_ , a _Partizan_ , though later models would come with a _Gauntlet_ which would attach to either arm and a (massive) _Riot Shield_ which would probably protect it from most artillery. The most distinguishing feature of a Shiden, however, was the High Sensitivity Sensors in it's head. The thing was technically a mono eye, though it had multiple sensors within it for maximum eye range. And if needed, it had a visor which would flip down for protecting the sensor.

Of course, every MS which Shino would pilot had the same colour scheme, hot pink alongside some white and magenta. And of course, the trademarked eyes on the Ryusei Go's visor. You can't have a RG-MS without em. The Ryusei Go III was no different, with the over-the-top pink eyes on it's 'visor' and the in-your-face colour scheme of Char-pink and red. Aside from the colours, it was the only Shiden with a commando fin on the back of it's head, and it was one of the two Shidens which used an Alaya Vijnana system, the other being in development at the moment.

Gotta love that look.

As Shino admired his Pink Comet, Atra made her way over to another Teen (or man, I dunno) with spiked up black hair and a strong physique. Just think of Guts with two Alaya Vijnana ports and you have the boy we're speaking of. As she approached, he looked over and politely greeted Atra as she passed him his lunch.

"Here you go, Akihiro," she said with a slight smile before he thanked her. Before she left, she looked up at the guy's personal Mobile Suit, the **ASW-G-11** _Gusion_. Or to be more specific, the **ASW-G-11fc** , _Gusion Rebake Full City_. "The Gusion looks a little different."

"Ah," replied Akihiro, looking up at the greenish Gundam Frame.

Ever since Mikazuki's disappearance, Akihiro took over as the main Mobile Suit pilot of Tekkadan, with Shino holding the title of second best in Tekkadan, not that Shino mind.

But for Akihiro, the position of 'Ace MS pilot' in Tekkadan was quite the stressful job, as he had to oversee most battles and be in the front line. Because of that, the original Gusion Rebake sustained much damage, so much so that Tekkadan could not repair the it, so they settled on sending it to Teiwaz for a full Inner and Outer Frame overhaul.

The result was the Full City, a Mobile Suit which combined the tech which Teiwaz Mobile Suits used and new outer armour built using Akihiro's previous battle records. Sure, it ratained some of it's older stuff, like the _Gusion Axe_ , a large Halbard who's handle could collapse into the axe tip if needed, salvaged from the pirate (space)ship belonging to the Brewers, the **120mm** _Long Range Rifle_ , , the Alaya Vijnana system, and twin Sub Arms stored inside the backpacks (which are controlled better when used by Alaya users), but the new stuff was just as juicy.

For starters, it was much, _much_ more heavily fortified, with thicker and blockier armour which could block strikes from other Mobile Suits rather effectively, even if struck by a melee weapon, which could very effectively slam through Nanolaminated Armour. Aside from the armour, the Frame's arm units were swapped with those which were made by Teiwaz, which were a little longer than the original's. And like the original Rebake, the Full City had the optional 'Sight' and 'Combat' modes, where the face would be folded in, with the armour pieces of the head unit folding over the head and the _Long-Range Sensor_ collapsing over it's optics, for long range combat and split open, and the complete opposite for Combat mode, with the LR-Sensor on it's head like a helmet to reveal the optics for maximum CQC capabilities and the cheek guards folding to the sides.

Damn, that's a lot of info.

Also, it should be noted that the user of this MS(which is just Akihiro if we're honest), when in Sight mode anyways, who use Alaya Vijnana (again, still Akihiro) are able to sense things which normal pilots would not, such as electromagnetic waves.

For new weapons, the GRFC was outfitted with two _Knuckle guards_ , which were stored in the Full City's armour under the arm. In combat situations when the FC lost it's Halbard, Akihiro would deploy both guards for a harder punch. And it would dent Nanolaminated Armour and bust up Mobile Suits pretty well too, and they did prove to be some rather effective 'small shields' when blocking strikes from other Mobile Suit.

Aside from them fists, the FC was given three more 120mm Rifles for all four of it's arms if it needed to lay down some suppressive fire. There was another weapon in it's arsenal as well, though I'm gonna keep it a secret for now. Besides, we used a lot more time than we really need speaking about the Full City, and it's not even a main Mobile Suit in this story.

"It sure is," replied Akihiro, looking at his MS with a smirk. "Teiwaz really went to town on it."

"I see…" replied Mixta, looking up at the Rebaked sadly.

"Is something wrong, Atra?" asked Akihiro, opening up the paper lunchbox.

"It's just… Mikazuki," she started, threatening to tear up, making Akihiro flinch.

"Uh, n-nevermind, Atra!" he quickly said, feeling a little bad.

"R-right," piped up Atra, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. "I'll just continue on…"

As she left, Akihiro sighed. While he was never one to be soft, Aki was, admittedly, missing Mika more than he'd let on. The boy had a certain charm to him which Atland enjoyed, probably due to the many times the two would train together, or the times the two were on the battlefield, side by side.

He was then pulled out of his thoughts when Shino popped up behind him. "Oi oi, Akihiro! Trying to make a move on Atra, eh?"

"What?! No!" replied Akihiro, looking over at Atra as she passed a box over to Hush and Dane. "I just feel bad for her."

"She's not going to forget about Mikazuki, isn't she…" commented Shino, voice sad and solemn for once in a pink moon. "I'll admit, I kinda miss em."

Akihiro then looked at him as if he was crazy. "Never thought you'd miss someone, Shino."

"Eh, what can I say," replied Shino.

* * *

 **4 years after joining the Trainee Corps**

" _Mikazuki is probably the reason why we got this far, so guess I'm suppose to miss him?_

"Too slow! Pick up the pace, you blockheads!"

Those were the words Keith Shadis yelled out at the 'blockhheads' who were running in the forested area of the Training grounds to test their stamina. Among the people here, Eren, Mikasa, Bertolt, Mikazuki and Annie were the fastest. On the polar opposite, Krista, Armin, Mylius, Nac and Reiner were lagging behind, though Reiner was behind more to support Arlert than anything.

Suddenly, at the last few kilometres of this run, Armin came dashing pass the five of them in an impressive display of speed. Looking back, Mikazuki saw Bertolt with wide eyes and a goofy smile.

* * *

 **Couple of hours later**

The Trainees were currently on one of their last 3D maneuver Gear lessons. As the wooden replica Titans with fabric cushion "napes" were raised, several figures were seen zipping through the forested area of the training zone.

Suddenly, with great speed and strength, three trainees zipped in and sliced the "napes". The first two made deep gouges in the fabric while the last made a cut which was about half as deep.

As they did their job, Keith wrote down what he thought of the trainees

 _"Annie Leonhart. Though her slashes are flawless, she's a lone wolf that has difficulty working with others."_

 _"Bertolt Hoover. He has exceedingly high potential, but lacks assertiveness."_

 _"Jean Kirstein. His 3D maneuvers are top class, but his hotheaded nature tends to cause discord."_

After Keith jotted the three sentences down as the Trainees made their cuts. As Annie and Bertolt made their way to find a new target, Jean only groaned. "I'm no match for their slashing ability. So I guess I'll just have to spot em' first!"

With that said, he shot across the forest, eventually encountering another wooden replica. He smirked and went in for the slice, until someone thanked him.

"Thanks, Jean!," came a voice beside him, as Connie Springer leapt off a tree and raised both his blades, only for the nape to be slashed by another person.

"I got it!" yelled said person, as she let herself hang from the 3D-MGs wire

" _Sasha Blouse. Though she has unusually good instincts, her character is unsuited for cooperative action."_

 _"Connie Springer. He's skilled at handling tight turn maneuvers, but is somewhat dim-witted."_

"I see em," informed a SC. His partner nodded at that notion before he pulled on a rope, making the Titan replicas spin, abiet slowly.

And within a second, three figures came dashing towards it, making their slashes. The first one's slash was not too deep, the next was a centimetre deeper, and the third was the one who dug deepest.

 _"Mylius Zeramuski, he's a timid one and that tends to affect his slashes. But he has an incredibly tactical mind, thinking of plans on the fly."_

 _"Nac Tias, exceptionally skilled in his academic courses, though he tends to be weak in combat. Despite this, his friendly nature has earned the trust of many."_

 _"Mina Carolina, she's an exceptional fighter, but tends to be lost in her own little world when in and out of battle."_

"Here they come!" said a Survey Corp as his partner pulled on a rope. When tugged, the Wooden replicas started turning and three blurs came in. The first one grunted before delivering a deep slash inside the fabric nape

The second blur was next, and she sliced about an inch shorter.

The kid groaned. "Dammit. I couldn't cut as deeply as Mikasa again!"

"Move," came a cold voice from behind him. Turning, Jaeger widened his eyes as another figure blasted past him and slashed right at the Titan Replica's neck. The swing cleaved right through the entire thing's neck and fabric 'nape' without damaging his blades, making everyone, even Mikasa and Keith's, eyes to widen.

 _"Mikasa Ackerman. She's completely proficient in every aspect, deserving nothing less than an unprecedented evaluation of generations past."_

 _"Eren Jaeger. He doesn't possess any particular talent, but he's improved his marks through pore effort. And he has an extraordinarily strong sense of purpose."_

And Keith looked to the last one who slashed, his eyes shining proudly.

 _"Mikazuki Augus. He's not to good academically, nothing too great, but he's definitely a force to be reckoned with on the field, delivering slashes which put Mikasa's to shame."_

* * *

 **The next day**

"Nice try, Marco," muttered Mikazuki as he downed his opponent with a clothesline. As he said that, Marco stood up from his current position and pushed the dust of his clothes. Currently, Marco was his temporary partner since Jean apparently wanted to fight against Mikasa. And it went as well as you'd expect.

 **A little bit away from them**

"Surrender, Jean," suggested Mikasa.

"N-NEVER!" exclaimed Jean, as Mikasa tightened her headlock on Kirstein.

 **Back to our bois**

"Not bad, Zuki. Where'd ya learn that from?" asked Marco as Mikazuki rolled his shoulders.

"I dunno. Just comes to my head if I need to use it," replied Mikazuki, giving Marco his usual stare as he rolled his shoulder. While Marco took five and got some water to hydrate himself, Augus took a look around the Training grounds, at the people he now called 'friends' or teammates.

In all honesty, Mika never thought he'd make any close friends outside of Orga or Atra, but here he was, with several friends and peers. The closest were still Mina, Nac, Annie, with Reiner and Bertolt being more in the sidelines messing around than anything.

He was friendly towards several others such as Armin and Ymir, though he never really interacted with the two much. He didn't know about Marco either, and he felt that the boy stood somewhere between Armin and Annie in terms of friendship.

Other people like Sasha and Connie, who were demonstrating their latest fighting technique until Keith came over and grabbed Connie by the head again, were a little too annoying for Mika, though he did respect their skills enough to at least acknowledge their existence. Jean stood in the same catagory.

"So, Mika, what do you think of her?" asked Marco slyly, motioning at Mikasa, standing over a Jean who was on his back. Mikazuki sighed at that. In his two years, people asked him about Mikasa Ackerman. Some asked if they were related somehow, others if they were in anyway engaged, usually ending with either one, or both, of the Mikas giving them a stern look.

In a way, it was like when he was with either Atra or Kudelia. Wherever he went with either girl, people would ask if they were related in a way or if he was their boyfriend. It seemed to happen more with Atra too. strange.

Mikazuki opened his mouth to speak, but he was silenced when he heard a loud thud. Turning, they saw Eren on the floor, legs up, while Annie looked down. While Marco watched, Mikazuki only sighed and shook his head. "You have quite the way with ladies, Eren."

After the two watched Annie flip Reiner onto his back, and after Marco had a good laugh at that, the two went back at it. "Oi, Mikazuki," asked Marco. "You think you can take on Annie?"

Sighing, Mikazuki shook his head. He has been asked this question many times in the years he was her. Truthfully, the two were on totally different levels.

By that, I mean Mikazuki is lightyears ahead of Annie Leonhart in terms of physical combat. In the past, Annie and Mika met up in private to spar. At first, Annie said she did not want to embarrass him.

Unfortunately, it was usually the other way around. Mika would always drop Annie in a hit or two, quick and efficient. Not really surprising as Mika has been fighting for survival almost his entire life while Annie's past was still a mystery to him.

But still, he kept saying that he would lose to Annie to not ruin her reputation, mainly because he has grown attached to the blonde midget. It was somewhat like the relationship he had… he has with Atra. Annie was precious to him, as were Mina and Nac, but he didn't really acknowledge those feelings at all, mainly because he didn't know how to, and that he kept forgetting about it.

Another note was that he and Mikasa Ackerman tended to fight fist to fist on multiple occasions. But, like Annie, he'd down her in an instant, though she did take a little more effort to put down. Their multiple combat experiences have given birth to a mutual respect and a minor friendship between the two. And by friendship I mean the two just say hi and give a quick wave every so often.

And unfortunately that also gave birth to the idea of the two Mikas being either related or in a relationship. And as stated, that really pissed the two off.

Turning back to Marco, he replied.

"No," he lied. Marco nodded and the two watched as Leonhart put Eren onto his back once more.

* * *

 **Cafeteria (?), at night**

Scratching his head, Mika gave a soft yawn as he bit into his bread. Currently, our four protagonists were having their dinner break, with each of them telling the others about their day.

As Mina told Annie about her almost hitting a tree on this morning's 3D-MG training, Mika chatted with Nac about their graduation. Nac spoke of joining the Survey Corps to keep an eye on Mina and him. Nodding, Mika could only listen with little enthusiasm, though he couldn't help but remember some Tekkadan members.

'Shino's probably trying to get some boobs again, Akihiro's probably weightlifting and Atra…'

Atra. Just thinking of the little girl's name made his heart contract. He didn't know if it was because he got a little softer being here or if he just missed the girl, but he just felt sad whenever he thought of her name.

"Is something wrong, Mika?" came Mina's voice. Looking at her, Mika shook his head, making Mina smile. "That's good to hear, Zuki."

Anyways, after he said that, and as Annie began speaking about some random shit on donuts, Mika started thinking about the Barbatos. Last he saw it, about five days prior, it was covered in quite the amount of dirt, rust and god knows what else. Aside from that, there was also one detail which Mika couldn't have figured out, and it was that the Barbatos' Ahab Reactors were in it's 'hibernation' mode, where both reactor output levels were in a sort of 'power saving' mode.

Aside from Tekkadan members and Gundams, Mika also remembered the more memorable times during the Trainee Corps. For one, Nac refrained from speaking about the outside world too much, mainly because he didn't want to get into unnecessary trouble. Aside from that, the boy was as friendly as usual. Mina and Annie remained pretty much the same.

He also remembered the various times when several other people, including his friends, asked him for a sparring session. It didn't go too well for them. In short, he downed Jean without issue, knocked out Connie with a punch, scared Sasha away when he pulled his arm back, gave Eren a hard backhand slap which dislocated his jaw (something I want to see in the anime) and take down Reiner by constantly tripping the large Akihiro wannabe.

But but their conversation, and in Mika's case a slight 'Vietnam Flashback', was cut off when Eren spoke up. "It's pleasant within the inner walls?" he asked, which also got Jean's attention. "Five years ago, this was also part of that area, you know."

"What are you getting at, Eren?" demanded Jean as Eren took a sip of his mug

Placing his mug down, Jaeger replied. "Jean, I think the inside of your head is plenty pleasant no matter where you are," he said, giving him a glare. As Jean twitched his right eye, Reiner and Connie couldn't help but snicker at that. Mikazuki, admittedly, also felt the slight urge to laughfck, but he kept his usual straight face as he glanced back at Jaeger.

"Why you…" growled Jean, gritting his teeth.

"Don't you think it's strange?" asked Eren. "How we're honing our skills to kill the Titans in order to get away from them, that is."

"Why bring that up now? For my sake too, this inane plan should be maintained," replied Jean.

And that seemed to anger Eren to the point where he stood up. "You piece of garbage!"

"Shut it! Just face reality!" Jean shot back as the two walked towards each other.

"Eren, calm yourself!" yelled Armin as he stood up, but that didn't stop him from grabbing Jean's shirt. That was when Mikasa stood up.

"Stop it," she commanded rather calmly before grabbing Eren's hand from Jeans shirt. She slid his hand down, and it seemed to calm the suicidal blockhead, who looked down in shame, before Jean flashed an angry (and actually hilarious looking) expression and grabbed Eren's shirt.

"Don't screw with me, you bastard!" he yelled.

"Let go! You'll tear my shirt!" Eren yelled back, seemingly caring more about that shirt of his than Jean possibly punching him with his hoof (hehehe).

"I don't give two shits about your clothes! I'm so fucking jealous!" exclaimed Jean, making both Annie and Mikazuki get the poker face.

"Jealous?" they repeated silently, looking at each other.

As the two looked back, they noticed Eren not moving much and Jean with a goofy expression. Mikazuki passed a raisin Nac after a while, before Eren grabbed Jean's arm, placed his other hand on his neck, and effectively swept Jean off his feet.

And at that Nac nearly choked on his raisin. Mina looked concerned but Nac waved him away. "Did he just…"

"He did," said replied Annie, cutting of Nac. Everyone in the place wasn't expecting Eren Jaeger to pull off Leonhart's signature move, so Mika supposed the choking Nac went through was justified

"Ouch…" started Jean as he sat up. "What the hell was that?!"

"A hand-to-hand combat technique I went through hell to learn while you slacked off," replied Eren. "You think kicking back and doing whatever you want is reality? Can you even consider yourself a soldier?"

That was when heavy footsteps were heard, and the door to their cafeteria opened up slightly to reveal Keith looking in. "I heard a loud noise a moment ago… anyone care to explain?"

The silence was spine tingling as everyone sat there with no proper reply. That is until both Mikazuki and Annie raised their hands. Keith looked at them, and they nodded before replying.

"It was the sound of Sasha farting," they said, perfectly in sync, causing the girl in question to shrink in fear. Keith only made a face of disgust as several trainees tried their hardest to hold in laughter. Mina very nearly lost it but held it in.

"So it was you again…" said Keith as he tried to hold his breath. Sasha looked as if she'd seen the end of the world until Keith left. "Learn some modesty."

When Keith left, Sasha immediately went to the two and asked why they did it as Jean and Eren sat on a table. Mikazuki sighed after five minutes of Sasha asking and stuffed five raisins right into her mouth. As the girl ate, Mikazuki motioned to Annie's piece of bread.

The girl nodded and stuffed it into Sasha's mouth before she could talk.

* * *

 **A few weeks later**

 _And so, 218 trainees made it to graduation. I don't know about the others. They probably gave up or something. Those lazy fucks._

"Offer your lives!" yelled the commander of the Survey Corps,

"Yes sir!" replied all the Trainees.

"From this day forth, all of you who have graduated from being trainees have three options!

"Firstly, the _Garrison_ , which is responsible for wall fortification and defending the towns,

"Secondly, the _Survey Corps_ , whom resolutely ventures into Titan territory,

"And lastly, the _Military Police Brigade_ , which governs the citizens and maintains order.

"Of course, only those that we previously announced to be ranked amongst the top ten trainees can select the third option!" finished the commander.

As a few of the Trainees complained about being below the 10th place, Mina, who ranked at 23 and Nac who was at 38, Mikazuki was rather surprised at his place.

"2nd place…" he whispered, a tiny bit surprised.

* * *

 **Hours later**

"I did it!" yelled Connie as he high fived Sasha.

"Food will never be a problem again!" replied Sasha, already drooling at the thought.

"How was I ranked below Eren…" growled Jean as he drank from his mug.

As the comments were threw around, Mika was, as usual, standing with his three friends. Occasionally, fellow Trainees would congratulate Mika and Annie for making the top 10, making Mina and Nac that much more jealous.

While Nac and Mina laughed and chatted happily, Mika and Annie kept their blank faces through most of the conversation, only adding onto their talking every so often. Though there was not much to add, as the two mainly spoke about how Ms Carolina and Tias would be proud, a notion Mika and Annie could agree on.

"What will you be joining, Nac?" asked Mina after some time.

"Well, I'm going for the Survey Corps since I'm not in the to 10," replied the boy in question.

When Mina asked Mika, he simply shrugged.

"What about you, Anne?" asked Mina, turning to Annie.

"The MPB," she replied. Once the realization sank in, Nac and Mina both looked down, both visible sad. Nac, however, shook off his dissapointed state, though he didn't seem as cheerful as before.

"T-That's great, Anne!" he complimented. "You do deserve it after all!"

Mika nodded in agreement while Mina stayed quiet until Nac snapped his fingers in front of her face. Shaking her head, she seemed to snap out of it. "Huh?"

"You were spacing out there, Mina," commented Nac, looking at her. Mina laughed embarrassedly as Mika and Annie smiled at that.

"What about you, Zuki?" asked Annie, using his nickname uncharastically.

"I don't know…" he replied.

"You can't win!" came a yell north of the place, catching the attention of the the former trainees. The four of them looked over and saw Thomas speaking to Eren, Mikasa and Armin in a serious tone.

"You know, right? Of the hundreds of thousand victims, the answer was obvious after over 20% of the population was lost. Mankind can't win against the Titans…"

After he said that last sentence, the happy atmosphere was replaced by a depressing one.

"So…" started Eren, causing everyone to look at him. "You're giving up because you think you can't win?"

Thomas started to pipe up but he was cut off. "True, up till' now it has been a losing battle for mankind… but it's because we don't know much about the Titans! A battle of resources against the Titans is pointless. Though we lost, the intel we obtained from the fights will surely bring hope! Are we gonna abandon the tactical advances gained through the many sacrifices and quietly wait for them to devour us all? You gotta be kidding me!

"I'll… exterminate every last Titan and escape these confining walls! That's my dream. Mankind hasn't truly been defeated yet!"

When Jaeger finished, he noticed the people staring at him. Probably out of embarrassment, he ran out of the room. Gasping softly, Armin and Mikasa ran after the kid.

"That was… something," piped up Mina, catching their attention. Nac nodded in agreement as Mika went back to being stone faced. As the silence became a little deafening, Mina suggested they go out. No one objected that, and they walked out.

"The night sky is always beautiful…" commented Annie uncharastically. Mika nodded and stared up at the cresent moon. Nac noticed him staring longingly at the orb of the night and smiled.

"You always stare at that thing like a little child, Mikazuki," said Nac sarcastically, making Mika nod. "Still, the translation is rather obscure, with Moon translating to Mikazuki."

"Ah," replied Mika, remembering that the language called 'Japanese' was an extremely obscure one in this place. Hell, even back on Mars it was rarely used (unless you're watching the EL sub). Dexter (the CGS 1st group guy with the glasses) was the one who told him about his namesake, and since then Mika has longed to see the Cresent Moon. And he got his wish when Tekkadan reached Earth.

As the two discussed the random things they'd do when they graduated, Mina and Annie talked about the two boys. "Ah, come on Anne, don't tell me you don't find yourself attracted to either one of the two!"

"Shut it, Mina," replied Annie in a soft yet embarrassed tone. "As if I don't see you glancing at Mika every so often."

Blushing and waving her hands around, Mina shook her head quickly before the boys looked back. "Is something wrong?" asked Nac.

"NO!" yelled both girls as both boys shrugged and looked back at the sky. Sighing in relief, Mina looked up.

"Whoa…" she commented, making Annie look up. As she did, a comet burnt through the night sky, shattering the darkness.

While the three were astonished by the fireball, Mika secretly hoped it wasn't another Mobile Suit or, God forbid, another Graze Ein.

* * *

 **The next day**

"Careful, Zuki."

"Thanks for the tip, Mina," replied Mika as he loaded a shell into a cannon atop the Trost

Currently, Mikazuki, alongside Mina, Thomas, Connie, Nac, Mylius and a random dude called Samuel, was atop the 50 metre Wall of Trost, loading up or polishing up the cannons of the thing.

After Mika cleaned the third cannon to the right, the group felt a slight shift below them. Well… not slight as it felt more like a mini earthquake.

"What was that…?" asked Mylius, looking at the others. Mina only shrugged, though Mika and Nac knelt by the inner edge of Wall Trost.

"It's the Survey Corps," said Nac, making the others look down alongside them. "They're going for their 33rd Expedition."

With smiles on their faces, the group looked down with the two, speaking about how brave they were for venturing into the territory of their enemies. Mika, on the other hand, thought that their bravery was misplaced, seeing as, from what Keith told them, their losses in every expedition were gargantuan.

When they were out, the group stood up to get back to work. As they messed around, with Mylius accidentally dropping a cannonball down the outer edge of Trost which smashed a Titan, earning him an impressed whistle from Nac, Mika noticed Eren and Armin coming up the Wall.

As Thomas, Connie, Mylius and Samuel went towards him to speak, Mika, Mina and Nac stood at where they were at, speaking between themselves. Well, it was more or less Mina and Nac speaking, with Mika listening in.

While Nac spoke about how proud he was of Annie, Mika's ears perked up, prompting him to turn around and see Sasha with a lustful grin on her face.

"Sasha?" muttered Mika, making his two m8s turn around.

"Hey guys," replied Sasha, her tone suggesting that she had some snacks.

"Hey there, Sash," greeted Nac with a smile. "Wassup?"

"C-check it…" said Sash, pulling her Trainee jacket open and pulling an impossibly large piece of meat out of it. Widening their eyes, with Mika just raising both his brows in surprise at how bold the girl was, both Nac and Mina yelled in sync.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?!" they proclaimed, getting the attention of the others.

"Place it back!" advised Nac, trying to get her out of trouble as the other Trainees came to see what was happening. "You're crazy if you think Keith would let you off the hook for this!"

Despite that, Sasha seemed ignorant to his advice, lost in her own little world.

"Later we can split it between ourselves…" said Sasha as the other Corps widened their eyes at her stash. "We'll slice it up and bread it… spread some butter on it and eat it with mushrooms…"

When she finished that sentence, the girl gave a low laugh, or a moan, as the others, minus Mika who just stood by the side, watching in amusement.

"Meat has been extremely valuable ever since the Fall of Shiganshina," said Mylius as Sasha walked past them.

"Don't worry about it," she assured, poking Mylius as she walked towards a wooden crate. Kneeling down, the gluttonous girl opened it up and hid the meat inside it. "Once we recapture the land, we'll be able to raise more cattle and cows for meat.

Overtime, a few of the Trainees lost it and said that they wanted that meat (not _that_ meat), including Mina and Nac. Mika only reluctantly agreed.

Once that odd thing was done, Mika and Nac went to the edge of the Wall of Trost. Glancing in the distance, Mika stayed silent as Nac smiled and spoke about the recapture of Trost.

"If we are really able to retake Maria," said Nac, making Mika look at him. "Imagine how much more Freedom we'd be achieve?"

"I don't know," replied Mika. "But more room would be nice."

"You're not wrong…" admitted Nac. "But mankind is slowly building up its strength. And soon, we'll be able to strike back at the Titans with everything we got, and maybe even retake our lost homes."

And Nac only raised his eyebrows in surprise when Mika simply nodded.

"You don't seem too enthusiastic about getting your home back," said Nac, making Mika raise his brows.

"I am…" lied Mika, seeing as he wasn't even supposed to be here.. "I just don't like showing enthusiasm."

"Do tell," said Nac jokingly. "You never show any sort of emotion."

At that, Mika simply nodded as Nac walked off to assist Mina. when he was gone, Mika closed his eyes and took a deep breath in.

And right when he did that, a large thunderbolt came down in front of him, making Mika blast his eyes open, and for the first time in his life, he felt truly shocked.

As in front of him was the red, fleshy face of the Colossal Titan, staring at him.

For many silent seconds, the Trainees atop Trost stared in horror, with Mika just looking with wide eyes. And with no warning, the entire Wall shook, accompanied by an explosion at the base of the place.

The impact sent the entire group flying back, though they managed to recover quickly. Unfortunately, one of them didn't manage it.

"Samuel!" exclaimed Mina, making Mika turn back and see the boy falling to his doom. Before he did, however, Sasha detached one of her cables and ran down the side of Wall Trost.

Yeah, don't ask me how that works either.

And with pinpoint accuracy, she shot a wire straight at his leg. It pierced through his foot, but at least he wasn't on the floor, splattered.

"Samuel!" proclaimed Sasha. "Don't move!"

I mean, it's not like he can move, right?

Anyways, as they hung there, Mylius gave a yell.

"Trost has been breached!" he proclaimed, making the others glance down in horror.

Despite this, Eren didn't seem too worried, only focusing on taking out the Colossal biyatch. Swinging up, he ordered for his team to get ready for battle. Reluctantly, they followed, though Mika had other ideas.

Once they were out of sight, he detached both of his cables and allowed himself fall backwards freely. And right as the ground was about to greet him, he launched two wires at the center of Trost, sending him in that general direction.

As he blasted towards the East of Trost, Mika silently hoped that his friends would survive long enough for him to get his MS ready.

* * *

 **Woooo. 14 damn pages in Google Docs and 16 in OpenOffice. Probably the longest I've ever done so far. So yeah. I really did enjoy writing this one.**

 **So yes, I updated chapters 4-6. Ze chapters 7 and so will be up soon. And also apparently it isn't 14 chapters in GD after I edited. It's 10!**

 **Slight update; MathiasNightlord01 pointed out that Mika wasn't as tough as he was supposed to be in the canon stories. I tried to change that with some edits here**

 _Le static_

 **A few days before the graduation**

"Is there a reason for you to call us here, Keith?"

"There is, my friend," replied Keith, looking at his friend. "It's about him."

As he said that, he tossed a document onto the table. Picking it up, Erwin opened it up and saw who it was about. "Trainee Mikazuki Augus?"

"Yes," replied Shadis. "In every physical and 3D Maneuver Gear training, he aced them all. He even surpassed former top Trainee, Mikasa Ackerman."

"I do not see why that is a reason to call me over." Erwin than folded his arms.

"Well, I did notice this," explained Keith. "The way he fights, it's as if he's had previous combat experience. And the way he used the Maneuver Gear, it's almost like he's used and perfected the technique years ago."

After hearing that, Erwin rested his chin on his hand. Keith then continued. "Also, from what I've seen, Mikazuki Augus' skills and strength could very well rival Levi's"

Erwin flinched a little when he suggested that. "Are you serious?" he asked.

"I am," confirmed Keith. "His skills are very refined. I've also caught wind of rumors of him defeating both Annie Leonhart and Mikasa Ackerman."

"I see…" started Erwin, before he noticed the academic scores Mika got. "But his academic skills are lacking."

"So, I am here to ask how high we should rank him," explained Keith.

"While his physical and Maneuver gear skills are probably the best in the class, his academics hold him back," said Erwin, looking at the file. "Could you tell me who was the most versatile?"

"Mikasa Ackerman," replied Keith. "She's the most perfectly balanced in her physical, maneuver gear and academic trainings."

"I see…"


	8. Introducing a Mobile Suit

**Wooo. nearly a week after I properly update this thing. But still i suppose it's kinda justified since I was overhauling on the edits of chapters 4-6. I feel kinda satisfied with the redoes. And also, yes. Nac and Mina aren't gonna die. They're among the main characters, after all.**

 **So yeah, this chapter's gonna have the battle of Trost, with some differences. I'm sure you fine chaps can find out what differences I added.**

 **Anyhoo, enjoy you assaholic bitches. Did y'all get that reference? No? Dammit. Well, hope y'all enjoy regardless.**

* * *

Within Trost, the Survey Corps who stayed behind, Garrison and some Trainees were assigned to assist in the evacuation of the District.

Despite their orders, however, a certain Trainee was heading for his own destination.

With both his blades unsheathed and Maneuver Gear sending him forward, with the occasional wire shot to swing him forward, the boy made his way towards the East of Trost, ignoring the people who were yelling at him.

That was until he heard some stomping behind him. Glancing back, he spotted a Titan coming at him. It's full sprint was more than enough to keep up with him, Maneuver Gear or not.

Huffing, Mika whirled around to face it. And with pinpoint accuracy, the boy launched both his Maneuver Gear wires at it's eyes, blinding it. And it seemed to feel the pain, as it jerked its head up, pulling Augus up with it.

Recovering quickly, Mikuazki forcefully detached the wires from it's eyes, pulling out a Titan eyeball in the process, causing the Titan to fall to it's knees in apparent pain. Ignoring it, Mika latched both wires onto the nape and reeled in for a killing blow.

Once it was struck down, Mika landed on the floor and wiped the gore off his blade with that jacket of his. He was never one for cleanliness, so it didn't bother him. When he was done, Augus continued on his way to the East Sector of Trost.

* * *

Within the Survey Corp base within Trost, the soldiers, mainly Trainees and some Garrison, rushed through the entire place, trying to organize the chaos. As they did, and after Eren gave Mikasa a headbutt cuz he doesn't appreciate his girl, our trio of pals were sharpening their blades and refilling their gas tanks.

After the trio confirmed that their loves ones, primarily Ms Carolina and Tias, were safely out of Trost, they quickly rejoined the other soldiers in preparing to run to death... erm... I mean go to battle!

However, as Annie sheathed a backup blade, Mina noticed that Nac was oddly worried looking.

"Something wrong, Nac?" asked Mina, tilting her head.

"Well… where's Mika…?" asked Nac, making Mina's eyes to widen a little.

"I… I don't know…" replied Mina as Annie finished sheathing her extra blades.

Opening his mouth, Nac was about to suggest that they try and find him, but Annie raised a hand. "We can't, not while we're trying to weather this storm."

"But!" began Mina, before Annie glared at her.

"We can't go looking for him," stated Annie, her voice as hard as iron, though subtle hints of regret seeped through. "Not while the Titans are invading."

As she finished, Annie walked over to be deployed, though Nac could see her fist clenched in frustration, alongside Mina, who had her shoulders slouched down. In an attempt to cheer her up, Nac placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, Mina," said Nac, making Mina turn to face him. "Mika's a touch customer. It'll take more than some Titans to take him down."

"I hope so," replied Mina as their squad leader, Coral, waved at them. "I really do…"

* * *

Inside the dilapidated barn in the East of Trost, the figure of Barbatos knelt there, silent and dormant.

Years ago, it was used in combat against massive Mobile Suits, and now it waited to be reactivated to fight. And thankfully, that day came sooner than it expected.

Bursting through the broken barn door (which was gonna break sooner or later anyways), it's pilot landed in front of it, sheathing both of his blades and approaching the unit.

"Oi, Barbatos," greeted Mikazuki as he launched himself up to the unit. When he landed on the cockpit, he cleared his throat. "Voice recognition, Mikazuki Augus. Password, _Tekkadan_."

When he said that, the optics of his MS flashed a bright green as the vents expelled some steam which was built up. And through all the steam, the Barbatos' cockpit slid down, accompanied by two grey flaps, revealing (once the steam cleared anyways) the 'controllers' of the Barbatos, alongside a chair. The controllers were a little rusted and the chair was a little ripped up, but it was still usable.

Ignoring the state of the Barbatos' cockpit unit, Mika jumped inside and removed his shirt before plugging into the Barbatos. And when he was plugged in, he immediately felt a stinging pain on his back, causing him to arc back in pain as a small line of blood began flowing down from his nose.

Despite the rather overwhelming amount of pain he felt, Mika managed to shrug it off. Once that was done, he began to check up the Barbatos' systems and found that the Gundam was not as powered as it was years ago. The Ahab Reactors were in a 'sleep' mode, slowly powering up thanks to Mika reactivating it and the fuel in the thrusters and Land Boosters were at a critical low, probably at 15% or so.

Yet, the low amount of fuel and Ahab Reactor power didn't bother him. It was the paths given to him.

Seeing as Trost was breached, Mika had no logical reason to stay here, and, considering the odds, there may be another human settlement he could take refuge in.

But there was one thing keeping him from doing so. Well, to be more precise, it was four. 'Mina, Nac, Annie, Miss Carolina…' he thought. They, while technically new friends, or in Miss Carolina's case, a family member, they have treated him rather well.

Mina was the first person who came to greet him in his first week here, and unlike almost all the people who would approach him, she wasn't rude. She never insulted the odd system on his back, only asking once and when he declined to speak of it, she never spoke of the subject again.

Nac was even friendlier than Mina, somehow. Often, the two would have chats in their down time as Trainees, and Mika trusted him enough to tell him about Orga, though he has twisted their history in order to keep his true identity a secret.

And as for Annie, the two shared a mutual friendship for each other. While Mika was ninety times stronger than her, she was rather smart. It was thanks to her that he learnt how to read. And also, he did enjoy her company.

Then there were the other Trainees. Mikasa has definitely earned some of his respect, Mylius was often scared when around him, likely because he was rather intimidating, but when he was willing to speak, he could give some entertaining conversations. And Sasha, she was rather helpful in their hunting trip a couple weeks back. Other chaps like Ymir and Krista were rather nice to him, with the latter being more so than the former, who more or less kept an open eye on him to see if he was trying to do shit with Krista.

Opening his eyes, he took a deep breath in and clenched his fists, grabbing the arm controllers. He had made up his mind. His old friends were pretty much gone, and now he had new friends. And if he was anything, he was fiercely loyal to friends.

Pulling up on the spine thrusters, he stood the Barbatos up tall in the 20 metre barn. "Start retinal projection," he commanded. The cockpit then became a 180 degree view of the Barbatos' perspective (I dunno how to explain it, so it's best to watch IBO ep 2 to find out what that is).

Once he was done, Mika got his MS to grab the busted Wrench Mace, which was in the corner of the barn collecting dirt, the Longsword which was lodged in the ground as though it were Excalibur or something. Quickly, the boy sheathed the Longsword on the Barbatos' backpack and held the large Wrench in both the Barbatos' manipulators.

Taking a deep breath, he crouched the Barbatos down low before boosting forward, destroying the barn door. As he piloted the mech, he couldn't help but remember a insert in the database of Barbatos.

 _'Gundam Frame. Machines which bare this name have appeared many times in historical turning points and have been a great influence on the history of mankind.'_

"Well," he whispered as a figure appeared on the Barbatos' motion radar.

* * *

 **East outskirts of Trost**

" _Let's see if this martian rat can influence these caged animals…"_

Pushing down on the Barbatos' arm controller, Mikazuki slammed the Wrench Mace onto a 3 metre, completely squashing the midget. The force was so strong that it lodged the Mace into the ground of Trost, and kicked up a massive amount of dust.

Ducking, he dodged a 14 metres grasp and pulled the left arm controller sideways, grasping the Longsword tightly with the manipulator and yanked it towards the opposite direction, slashing the 14 metre in half and getting rid of some dust.

As the Titan regenerated its bottom half, Mika aimed the left Land Booster towards the nape of the beast and blasted it with a massive amount of plasma (or whatever that blue stuff is), completely melting the nape.

"Eck," commented Mika as he sheathed his Mobile Suit's sword and retrieved the Mace. Once he got it up, he detected something coming towards him at a fast pace.

Before he could even turn the Barbatos, however, a 15 metre tackled the Gundam, and though it did not lose its footing, it did stumble back a fair bit. The Titan attempted to grab the Barbatos' cockpit, but Mikazuki remembered a move from his latest fight on his world.

Pulling up the arm controller, he grabbed the hand of the Titan with the manipulator of the Barbatos before sidearming it to the left. It landed hard on the concrete, losing a few chunks of flesh.

As the thing stood up, Mika mentally categorized it as an Abnormal, a Titan who could think, a little. Raising the Mace, he activated the boosters and charged at this ugly son ova' bitch.

* * *

Atop the massive Wall of Rose, Keith Shadis and most of the Garrison, and some Survey Corps who stayed behind, stared down in shock as the newcomer slammed it's 'weapon' down onto an Abnormal, decimating it.

While the other soldiers stared in shock, Keith, alongside several others which participated in the Fall of Shiganshina, simply stared at it, mostly surprised that it appeared once more.

"That's the one, ain't it?" asked Hannes, a survivor of the Fall of Shiganshina.

"It is, Hannes," replied Keith. "The Mechanical Titan, the fabled warrior of Maria."

"And to think, it would appear when another District falls," commented Hannes. "What are your orders, Keith?"

"... do not provoke it," replied Keith, surprising some of the other soldiers.

"I beg your pardon, Commander Keith, but that _thing_ could very well destroy us!" exclaimed a Garrison.

"He's right!" agreed another soldier as he pointed to a cannon latched onto the Walls of Rose. "I say we take aim and destroy it!"

"And risk killing our only possible hope to reclaiming Trost?" asked Keith, making several of the less experienced soldiers raise their brows.

"What do you mean, Commander?" asked a Garrison with pink hair and glasses.

"What I mean, Riko, is that this Titan was the one who saved Commander Erwin's group and helped fend off the Titans during the Fall of Shiganshina many years ago," replied Keith, making a few soldiers flinch. "It was renowned by survivors of the Fall of Shiganshina, and belittled by the Wall Cults."

"That's nice and all," started another Garrison. "But what do you suggest we do?"

"How many teams are left in the base?" asked Keith.

"Only one full team," replied Riko. "Coral and his four Trainees."

Nodding, Keith turn to the Mechanical Titan below, which slammed it's foot down on a 3 metre, squishing it.

"What are you thinking, Keith?" asked Hannes, raising his eyebrow.

"During the Fall of Shiganshina, this particular Titan showed no hostility towards any humans," replied Keith, not diverting his attention from the Titan killer. "In Hanji's report, she said that It even showed signs of intelligence which no known Titan, Abnormal or not, had, dodging the Armoured Titan's attacks and striking in weak points."

"Hold up," started a blonde Garrison. "Are you suggesting that we send a Commander with a squad of Trainees to just _ask_ a Titan to help us?"

"Supposedly," replied Keith. "At the moment, it's our most realistic plan to reclaim Trost after all."

"But-" began the blonde, before he thought about it. "I suppose a Titan fighting on our side could be better than nothing…"

"Exactly," said Keith. "Now, go get Coral. I'd like him to deploy as soon as possible."

With a nod, Riko and the blonde Garrison sprinted down to get the group ready. Once they were gone, Keith ordered the rest to get to work organising this chaos, leaving only Hannes with him.

"Are you sure about this, Keith?" questioned Hannes as the sky slowly turned cloudy and grey.

"I can't be so sure," replied Keith. "But I can hope."

* * *

 **After a short while**

Zipping through the desolate East District of Trost, Team Coral, accompanied by Riko.

Members of Coral's team were our three pals and Mylius. At first, three of them (Nac, Mina and Mylius) were supposed to be part of Eren's team alongside Mikazuki and Thomas. But after his spontaneous disappearance, they were replaced by three other Trainees (who are probably dead now tbh) and placed under the care of Coral Reeves.

As for Annie, she joined Coral's team just to keep an eye on both her pals.

For the first few hours since the breach, Coral's group were placed in reserve until Riko and a blonde bloke ran down to inform them of an assignment, much to Mylius' dismay. Though Nac was a little relieved, as it meant that Mina would spot pacing around HQ, wondering where Augus went off to.

When Coral asked what assignment this was, Riko kept it vague for an unknown reason, and while Coral was curious, he knew better than to push a question on Riko.

And that leads us here, with the small group heading towards a slight dust cloud. While most, especially Mylius, kept their eyes peeled for nearby Titans, Mina kept her eyes open for the person she was looking for.

"We're here," announced Riko as they approached a large dust cloud. Squinting, Mina tried to make out what was in it.

"Was there an explosion?" asked Nac.

"Well…" replied Riko, not knowing how to put it, before the body of a 13 metre class Titan came flying out of the dust, smacked away by some sort of weapon. When swung, the weapon dispelled the dust and gave our group a clear view of the one who caused the destruction.

And when she saw it, the group widened their eyes in terror, most noticeably Annie, whose eyes were beyond wide.

' _It can't be…'_ thought Annie.

"I-Is that…" started Mina, before Nac quickly replied.

"Yeah, the Titan from all those books we read," replied Riko. "The myth of Maria, the Mechanical Titan…"

As she said that, the group landed on a building well away from the Mechanical Titan and crouched behind some stuff to keep hidden. As they hid, both Riko and Annie narrowed their eyes at it, watching it closely, though Annie was watching it closer than Riko.

Now I would go through what it looks, but I'm sure y'all know what the Barbatos 6th form Final Battle looks like at this point, so I'll skip this part. Though Mylius did find those piercing green eyes to be somewhat terrifying.

While watching, the group was genuinely surprised by how fast the thing was. Despite it looking as though it weighed even more then the Walls, the thing moved as though it was unburdened by all that white armour which surrounded it's grey skeletal frame.

Aside from that heavy looking armour (which was probably nothing compared to the normal _Gusion_ ), it wielded it's weapon, a pale grey piece of scrap attached to a handle, looked to be nearly half a ton, but it swung it at the shorter Titans like it weighed nothing.

Swinging it to the side, it swept a 15 metre class off it's feet before using the momentum of the swing to raise the weapon into the air. Gripping the thing using both handles, the larger Titan gave a brutal downswing with it's weapon, and the 15 metre was pulverised when it made contact, kicking up a ton of dust and causing a slight shock wave.

Once that thing was squashed, the White Titan straightened itself up, the weapon still lodged in the dissolving Titan's body.

"Damn…" muttered Coral, before a loud clap of thunder caught their attention, and scared both Mina and Mylius half to death, with Mina hugging Annie and Mylius to Nac out of fear.

After they got their friends/acquaintance off them, the group felt the rain falling on them. And they also noticed that the Mechanical Titan was looking up as well, the glassy green eyes piercing the grey sky.

Well, it looked up silently, at least until Mylius let out a cough, thanks to the coldness of the air.

Suddenly, the Machine whirled to face them, it's arm raised and aimed some sort of black 'cannon' at the group, shocking them.

For several seconds, the Titan kept the weapon trained on the group. And while it definitely didn't look like much, the arm mounted thing looked suspiciously like a cannon. And a cannonball hitting them would not be pleasant.

Finally, the Mechanical Titan inched its arm upwards and fired, making them gasp in fear and do that thing where you shield your entire body and close your eyes in fear when you're scared and thinking you're gonna die. But they realized soon after that they were still alive, before they heard a thud behind them.

Slowly turning, they saw the body of a dissipating Titan on the ground, a large cannon hole going from neck to nape. Blinking in surprise, they turned back to the oversized 18.8 metre and stared at it in shock.

"Never thought I'd be thankful towards a Titan…" muttered Nac, still in shock.

"A-Agreed," said Mina as the ground shook a little. Turning to the source, the Soldiers and the Mechanical Titan spotted a rather large group of Titans, probably 26, coming at them. Grunting, the soldiers took a step back, not willing to face such a large group.

But the White Titan didn't seem to be worried, not that they could tell because of the lack of a… well… actual face, instead it crouched down, and the things on the side of it's hips swiveled back.

After a short while, several parts of it's body began emitting some sort of noise, before blasting out some sort of blue flames which propelled the Machine forward at an incredible speed, with the 18.8 metre class dragging it's 'weapon' behind it, creating a craves as it was dragged along the ground.

When it was about ten metres away, the larger Titan swung its weapon in a slanted upwards strike with both arms, sending a 10 metre Titan flying. Following this, it sent its weapon downwards, squishing a 5 metre.

As it mopped the floor with the Titans, Coral simply huffed at that. "Hey, are we gonna just let a Titan do our job for us?"

Before any of the others could reply, Coral launched both his wires at where the action was at.

"That bastard's crazy!" proclaimed Riko.

"But he has a point," said Nac, unsheathing his blades and following Coral's lead. Behind him, both Mina and Nac followed suit.

"Crazy bitches…" growled Riko, before Mylius followed, not wanting to be left alone. Seeing no other option, Riko followed suit.

Through the rain, Mina sliced a 13 metre class' nape, downing it. Kicking off the downed Titan's nape, Mina zipped towards another.

Fighting alongside this 'Titan' was proving to be rather effective for them. Facing a group of Titans who are in a group of more than 20 was usually considered suicide, but this new Titan made it almost too easy.

And within five minutes, 16 of the 26 Titans were gone, much to the soldiers relief.

"Mina!" came a yell from Nac behind her, prompting her to turn around and spot a 10 metre class Titan coming at her.

Widening her eyes, Mina saw no way to counter it by herself, and the others were busy with their own Titans. Gritting her teeth, she was about to take a risky leap between it's legs.

Well, before the massive weapon of the Mechanical Titan came down on it, slamming the Titan into the ground and kicking up a ton of dust and the ensuing shockwave sent Mina flying back onto a building top.

After the thing was squashed, the other soldiers turned towards the Mechanical Titan, thanks to the loud boom it made. Slowly, the cloud of dust dispelled, revealing the large 18.8, who still had it's weapon stuck in the dissolving one's body.

"Area is secure," informed Riko, swinging up to Coral.

"Well, that took less time than I expected," said Coral, genuinely surprised.

"Agreed," agreed (hue hue hue) Riko as the two swung over to Mina alongside the other three Trainees. Once they were with Mina, Nac and Annie checked on her, ignoring the Mechanical Titan which slowly turned around to face them(considering how big it is, the Barbatos probably towers over the houses within the Walls).

When it stared at them, Riko, Coral and Mylius unsheathed their blades to try and defend it. And when the thing raised it's weapon, they tensed up with wide eyes, but loosened up when it placed the thing on it's back, apparently storing it.

Once the weapon was stored, the Titan simply stared at them silently, giving Mina, Nac and Mylius a slight shiver up their spines. Annie, Riko and Coral, on the other hand, put on brave faces, though they did feel afraid on the inside.

After a few seconds, Coral decided to speak up. He kept his voice strong, though the occasional bead of sweat and voice crack gave up the fact that he was nervous.

"H-Hey there…" started Coral, keeping his voice as steady as he could. "Are you t-the Mechanical Titan of Maria?"

Unfortunately, he did not know if the thing knew what he meant. After a couple of seconds in silence, Coral was about to try a different approach to asking, until the sound of moving pistons and gears made him and the trainees jump in shock before the Titan nodded it's featureless head.

"Well…" continued Coral, clearing his throat. "I, Coral Reeves, on behalf of the Survey Corps, would like to welcome you to Trost."

"Seriously, Coral?" asked Riko, looking at him as though he were missing some brain cells.

"Yes, Riko," replied Coral, looking at her with narrowed eyes which said ' _choose your words wisely, Riko. Or this thing might just try and kill us all and break the other walls.'_

With that said, Riko glared at him, though she knew what he was trying to relay to her and kept her mouth shut.

"Anyways… if you don't mind, we'd need some help," continued Coral. "You assisted the soldiers during the Fall of Shiganshina. And it'd be nice if you assisted us once more."

Smiling crookedly, Coral felt that he could have probably worded that better. Though he expected the Titan to simply nod or shake it's head, not to expel steam from its 'mouth'. Turning around, Coral and his team coughed at that, though what happened next made them stop.

"Ah," came a voice through the steam, making Mina, Nac and Annie's eyes to widen.

Raising an eyebrow, Coral looked between his comrades. "Who said that?"

And no one replied, only staring behind him with wide eyes.

"Wait…" muttered Coral, slowly turning back to the Mechanical Titan. "Did you…?!"

"Yes… it did," said Mylius, almost ready to pass out, the only thing stopping him being Nac, who was patting his back and whispering encouraging words to him in a terrified voice.

"Is something wrong?" asked the Titan in a casual voice which sounded calm, and oddly familiar to Nac, Mina and Annie.

"N-No!" lied Riko and Coral in unison, since it was the complete opposite. You see, in the history of (this world's) human race, no Titan has had the ability to speak. I mean, there were some Survey Corps who claimed that they spoke to them, but they were pretty much all lies.

With that said, the Titan nodded. Yet, as it stood before them, Nac whispered to Annie. "Hey… Ann?"

"Hm?"

"Does this… Titan sound like Mikazuki to you?" asked Nac. And Annie seemed to tense up.

"Yes, it does," replied Annie with a nod.

Suddenly, a loud noise snapped them to attention. Most of the Trainees didn't really know what it was, though the two Seniors, plus Annie, knew what the noise meant.

"A retreat signal?" muttered Coral. "But we got the Mechanical Titan!"

"It might be from those who are within Rose," pointed out Riko. "They might not know of the Titan of Maria."

"I'm sure they don't," said Coral. "Some of them are too afraid to come and fight, after all."

"Agreed," said Riko.

"So, what's the plan, Commanders?" asked Nac.

Turning to the Titan, Coral rubbed his chin. "Hey, if you don't mind… we're retreating… and-"

"I'll follow," cut off the Titan, making the soldiers jump.

"Right…" said Coral after a few seconds. "Let's move out, then."

With that said, Coral and Riko (I just realized their names rhyme) launched their wires towards the Walls of Rose. Mylius immediately followed, with Nac, Mina and Annie launching soon after.

As for the Titan, it crouched down and 'hovered' after them, and the soldiers were surprised at how quick it was, seeing as it managed to keep up with them despite their headstart.

After some time zipping through Trost in silence, Mina decided to try and break some of the ice.

"Hey," she called back to the Titan, who looked up at her. "Do you have a name?"

And when the others looked at her, she replied by saying, "What? We classify the large and armoured as the _Colossal_ and _Armoured_ Titans."

"We classify this one as _Mechanical_ Titan, Mina," said Annie.

"But this one can speak, Ann," pointed out Mina. "You got a name, right?"

When she said that, the Mechanical Titan didn't reply for several seconds, making Mina sigh. And after another short while, it replied.

"Barbatos."

* * *

 **This chapter was infuriating to write, lemme tell ya. It took nearly half a week to get it out and an entire week to edit…**

 **Seriously. I edited this on… let's say 8/6/17. And I finished on 15/6/17.**

 **Maybe I made I mistake writing this. I dunno.**

 **Mistake or not, it's still here. So whatever. See ya in C9.**


	9. Breaking through the crowd

**So this is the better, I think, portion of the Struggle for Trost arc. Hopefully you chaps enjoy this one more than part 1.**

 **Not much else to say. Well, I do have to say that I need a beta reader….**

* * *

"Hey, Jean! What are we gonna do now?!"

"There's nothing we _can_ do," replied an out of character Jean. "To think when the retreat signal is finally rung, we can't scale the walls because we're out of gas. Now we're probably gonna die… all because of those spineless bastards."

"You mean the Supply team? Did they get wiped out?" asked Connie.

"No, but they apparently lost their fighting spirit," replied Jean. "I can sympathize with that, but… how could they abandon their mission and confine themselves at HQ? Unsurprisingly, the Titans swarmed, making resupply impossible."

"Than we have no choice but to risk everything on taking out the Titans, right?!" exclaimed Connie. "It'd be better than sitting around and doing nothing! Titans are bound to come here too! Even if we keep running from them, we'll just be wasting what little gas we have! After our mobility is lost, it'll really be over!"

"Seems you thought things through for once, Springer," replied Jean sadly, looking at his fellow Corps. Their sprites were crushed, and some even broke down crying, waiting for the inevitable to happen.

"Come on you two!" came a voice behind Springer. Suddenly, a head popped up behind him. Jean recognised her as Sasha. "Can do it! Now, stand up!"

Walking beside her friend, Sasha tried to get her teammates sprites back up. "If we all work together, I'm sure we'll succeed! I'll spearhead it!" she began, only to stop when she saw the terrified and dead looked of her team.

But she than heard a subtle sound behind her. Turning, she saw something she never thought she'd see in her lifetime, or just because she thought she'd die. Connie noticed this and shouted at his friend. "Sasha, what are you doing?"

"W-w-wha… t-t-t..." she exclaimed, pointing her finger at the quickly approaching figure.

"Spit it out already, Sasha!" yelled the baldy.

Jean looked at where she was pointing, and widened his eyes. Coming at them was a group of Trainees led by Survey Corp Commander Coral and Garrison Elite Riko.

But the thing which made Sasha stutter that much was the thing which was behind them

"What is that?!" he exclaimed, catching the attention of the other Corps and Garrison. All except Armin, who was wanting a Titan to eat him at this point (let's be real),screamed in terror.

* * *

"Ah great," whispered Kyle as the Survey Corps and Garrison started freaking out at the sight of the Mechanical Titan.

"Over there," yelled Coral, making a turn. Zipping forward, he landed on a building along with his team as the Mechanical Titan skidded to a stop.

"Get away from that, Coral!" exclaimed Jean, blades in hand, alongside a few of the braver Corps and Garries.

"Wait!" exclaimed Nac, zipping in front of the Titan. "He's no enemy!"

"How can you be so sure?" asked Reiner. "It's a Titan, and those things only eat humans and nothing more! And to add on, this thing's armoured!"

"Because if I was gonna eat them," came an unknown, yet familiar, voice. Connie tapped Jean's shoulder and pointed up at the Titan. "I would have done so long ago."

Right after she said that, the Trainees went dead silent, staring at the Titan. Coughing nervously, Mina walked forward, gaining everyone's attention. "Uh, well, this is Barbatos. Or as most of you know him, the Mechanical Titan from five years ago."

"You mean that thing which helped us all those years ago?!" exclaimed an unnamed Trainee.

Mylius nodded and motioned to 'Barbatos'. "And Keith says that it's here to help humanity. At least, he assumes…"

Barbatos stayed as silent as a calm morning when the Titans are not killing. It made no threatening gestures to any of them, and if compared to a normal one, it definitely wasn't as creepy. Granted, it looked ten times as threatening, with all them spikes and dents on it.

Suddenly, they heard a whirring noise behind the Barbatos. It turned and saw Mikasa coming straight at it, swords at the ready. When she slashed, however, both blades snapped like dried twigs. Recovering quickly, she kicked off the side of its shoulder and landed on a nearby building.

Quickly swapping out blades, she was about to attack the Barbatos until Coral got in her way. "Stand down, Mikasa! It is not the enemy."

Looking bewildered, she began questioning him. "Step aside, Coral! It's a Titan, and they're the enemy!"

"It's not!" shot back Coral. "This Titan is the one which helped the evacuation of Shiganshina five years ago, and it's back to help I mean, you were from Shiganshina after all…"

"What do you mean by that, Coral?" asked Mikasa, lowering her blades a tiny bit.

"Five years ago, this Titan assisted in the evacuation of Shiganshina," explained Coral. "It also helped us push back the Titans at east Trost and even assisted a few of us when we were caught by Titans."

While she wasn't fully convinced, she knew Coral never lied to any one of his friends or peers, seeing as he was one of the commanding officers which taught the Trainee Squad.

And to add on, this thing did look oddly familiar. If she wasn't wrong, the bloody thing fought the Armoured Titan within the confines of Maria, though she couldn't really remember much as she only caught a slight glimpse of it before that boat she, Eren and Armin were on went into Trost.

Calming down, she sheathed her blades, in turn calming Coral down as well.

"Very well then," she replied, before she started to look around, apparently looking for someone. After several seconds, she zoned in on a blonde sitting alone. Zooming towards him, he called out his name. "Armin!"

Completely ignoring the Titan beside her, she rushed to her friend and knelt down in front of him. "You okay?" she asked, getting no response. Standing, she looked around. "Where's Eren?"

Having no response, she called Armin's name once more. And after another short moment of silence, Armin suddenly shot his head up, eyes filled to the brim with regretful tears. He looked at Mikasa silently, his eyes telling most of the story.

Finally, he spoke. "Those… of the 34th Training Squad…" he started, pressing his fists onto his thighs. "Thomas Wagner, Marcus Daymen, Kio Asuno, Lacus Clyne, and Eren Jaeger all accomplished their duties and were heroically killed in action!"

When he finished, the atmosphere became even more depressing than before. Mina and Nac felt a strong surge of sadness inside them. They were often with the guy, mainly talking to the guy along with Mikazuki. Nac secretly wondered what Zuki would think if he was still here.

Annie, on the other hand, didn't really care, because she's Annie. And Annie hardly ever cares about these kinda stuff.

As for the Barbatos, no one knew what it felt. Though most didn't think it cared.

Most of them expected Mikasa to show some form of emotion, but she didn't. Kneeling down and placing her hand on Armin's, she looked at him with her dead looking eyes."Armin."

"Calm down. This isn't the time to be getting sentimental," she ordered, straight faced and standing up. "Stand up. Marco, if we eliminate the Titans swarming the HQ, we can refill our tanks and scale Wall Rose, right?"

"Yeah, you're correct," he replied. "But even if it's you, there are too many-"

"I can do it," she replied as the Barbatos turned to face her, startling a few of the members. Though Team Coral + Riko hardly flinched. "I'm… strong. Stronger than all of you"

With that said, the girl raised her sword into the air. "Far stronger. And so, I can kick around those Titans. Even alone. Forget lacking talent, you're all nothing but cowards. It's a real shame, so feel free to sit back and watch. That's all you have to do."

"Hey, Mikasa, what the hell are you saying?!" exclaimed a girl who looked suspiciously like Hannah.

"You're gonna take on _that_ many Titans by yourself?!" added another generic anime dude.

"There's no way that's-"

"If I can't, I'll die. But if I win, I live," she replied, simple and straightforward. "If I don't fight, I can't win."

And with that, she jumped off and zipped into battle, leaving the rest of the trainees stuck there.

"The real shame is your way with words," proclaimed Jean, looking down. "Expecting that to rile us up."

"It had better," came a voice beside him. Turning shakily, he saw the Barbatos looking forward. It crouched down before the black blocks on its hips and a segment on the backpack flipped up.

"What does that mean?!" exclaimed the generic anime dude.

"It means that you guys better fight, or die," it replied, before blue flames burst out from the legs, hip 'skirts' and backpack, sending it zipping forward in a speed well above the 3D-MG.

Gritting his teeth, Jean shook his head violently. Though Coral's team "It's your fault, Eren…" whispered Jean, clearly infuriated.

"Hey! I don't recall being taught to leave our comrades to fight alone!" came Nac's voice, and with that said, he got everyone's attention, and it surprised them all as he almost never raised his voice. "You're all gonna become real cowards!"

Once those words left his mouth, he zipped off alongside Coral, Mina, Mylius, Annie and Riko. though both Riko and Coral were headed towards Rose, as they had enough gas and had to report in to Keith.

"We can't let that happen," grunted Reiner, walking towards the battlefield along with Bertolt.

"This is a suicide run…" groaned Jean.

"Well, it's better to die in the battlefield than to die a coward," came Connie's voice as he walked past Jean. "If you're gonna die a coward, then be my guest."

With that said, Springer and Brous went after the other Trainees/Garries/Corps who went forward. Groaning in frustration, Jean saw no other choice but to follow.

Up front, Mina fell in beside Reiner. "Hey, Reiner?"

"Yeah?" asked Reiner.

"Have you seen Mika around…?" asked Mina hopefully.

"No, I thought he was with you?" said Reiner.

"No… he isn't," was his reply before Mina shot herself forward as an impressive speed.

"Hey, Mina!" proclaimed Reiner. "You're going too fast!"

Unfortunately for him, Mina zipped straight past Nac and Annie. Raising her blades, she sliced an unexpecting Titan's nape clean off.

Seeing his friend take off so daringly compelled Nac to follow suit. Increasing his speed, he zipped beside Mina and latched himself onto a 7 metre. Whirling around, he detached the wire before firing it onto the nape and hoisting himself in for the kill.

"Their drive for revenge is impressive," complemented Annie, zipping faster to follow her two friends. Behind her, the rest of the Trainees began to regain hope and zip after them.

As they progressed onwards, Jean couldn't resist a smirk. But it was wiped off his face when a 15 metre charged him. He got ready to evade, until a massive piece of metal swung down onto it. Looking at the one who swung the weapon, he was mildly surprised that it was the Barbatos.

"Good to see you guys riled up," came it's voice. "Now, go! I'll bring up the rear""

Jean nodded at that statement, launching forward. "Go! Follow Mikasa! Speed is key for this battle! Get to HQ before you run outta gas!"

As they moved onwards, with Mikasa taking the front and the Barbatos taking the rear, they ripped through the hordes like a Wrench Mace through Carta's Graze Ritter's arm unit. But suddenly, Mikasa's 3D-MG stopped working.

The lack of gas sent her tumbling down onto a building, breaking some of the roof tiles instead of her bones. But hey, Ackerman is **hard**. She's ranked number 1 for a reason. And it's cuz she's _**HARD**_.

Anyways…

"Mikasa!" exclaimed Armin before he quickly diverted his direction to his friend, with Connie following behind. The Barbatos seemed to not care, sticking closest to Mina, Annie and Nac.

"Armin, wait!" exclaimed Jean.

"Incoming Titan!" exclaimed Mylius who was behind horse fa- I mean Jean, diverting his attention back forward, causing Jean's eyes to widen. Suddenly, the Barbatos leapt into the air, it's weapon held tightly in it's hands. With a powerful downswing, it obliterated the 10 metre.

"Uh, nevermind…" muttered Mylius.

As it pulled the weapon from the ground, the Barbatos turned and lifted its arms. The Trainees were confused to what it was doing, until it blasted out a massive 170 mm cannon round. It flew straight at a 4 metre, blowing it up.

"Did you see that?!" exclaimed a Trainee as they passed the Barbatos.

"I did!" replied Reiner, a little ahead of them. Nac and Bertolt responded the same. Turning, the 18.8 metre activated its gear and blasted behind them.

"Stop talking," it instructed. "Just keep going."

* * *

 **10 minutes later**

"It's not possible to make it there, not without sacrifices at least…" whispered Jean. In the ten minutes of them zipping across Trost, they had made it about 70% there. Thank to the Barbatos, casualties were rather sparse, with everyone surviving the journey. Well, minus Mikasa, Armin and Connie who were still somewhere out there.

But not everyone was safe atop a roof. Looking down, Jean saw a Trainee practically freaking out.

Hard to blame him. His 3D-MG ran out of gas a while back. Jean was about to help, until a 5 metre (or somewhere around that size) ran into the camera's field of view. Behind him, Nac came flying by. "Hang tight, Tom!"

He was about to assist, until an 8 metre caught him. The raven haired boy struggled as a girl shot down to assist, only to be caught by another 8 metre.

Opening its mouth, the 5 metre was about to consume 'Tom', until a weapon which resembled a sword struck it in the head, sending it backwards. Before anyone asked, two 2500 mm missiles were launched at the 8 metres, completely obliterating them

"What the?!" exclaimed Jean, only to find the culprit looking straight at him. It had its arms outstretched, but instead of black blocks, it had two odd cone like structures resting on circular platforms

Rushing forward, the Barbatos snatched the three up and tossed them onto the building. "Jean," it started. "Get going!'

Seeing an opportunity, Jean nodded. "Come on! It'll distract them. Now's our chance, rush to the HQ!"

Tom was, at first, thinking that he'd be left behind. But Jean instructed another soldier to assist him. And Nac volunteered to carry him to HQ. And after he lifted the Trainee, the group went off to HQ.

When they were gone, the Barbatos clenched it's weapon tightly in both hands. As a 9 metre approached quickly, it quickly raised it up and slammed the thing down onto it, turning the tiny giant into a puddle of gore.

Ducking, it whirled around and grabbed a 15 metre by the neck before lifting it into the air and slamming it back down, hard. As the Titan regenerated, the Barbatos lifted a foot over the nape and squashed it.

Looking towards the pack of three coming closer, it held the Mace weapon in both hands and charged the group.

Zipping past Titans along the way, Jean led his team through the desolate city of Trost. Several unnamed Trainees didn't make it, but the main characters, seeing as they have plot armour, got all the way through.

Jean did get caught by the leg, but he slashed the finger off so it didn't count.

Dodging the grasps of the Titans, they managed to get through the blockade and into the HQ. Of the fifty or so Trainees, only Jean, Annie, Reiner, Bertolt, Marco, Sasha, Mina, Nac, Mylius and a couple others came through.

Looking to his left, Jean noticed two Suppliers cowering under a table. "You guys… are the supply squad, right?"

When they responded positively, he pulled the boy out from under the table and punched him square in the face, with Marco trying to stop him. "These guys left us out to die! People died in vain because of you lot!"

"The Titans broke into the supply station!" retorted the girl. "There was nothing we could do!"

"Did you forget about your job to do something like that?!" exclaimed Jean, absolutely furious at this point. Before he could go on, however, Reiner noticed a sound coming their way.

"Get down!" exclaimed the large blonde, before a head slammed into the left wall. The Supply chaps and Trainees went hysterical, trying to get out. As the unnamed Trainees rushed out, Jean couldn't move any of his muscles, paralyzed from fear.

Suddenly, a fist collided with the two hideous faces peering through the hole, sending the bastards flying down. When they were gone, a Titan with a pointy chin and admittedly well done black hair roared. "What the?!"

As if on cue, Mikasa crashed in, with Connie holding Armin in his arms, bridal style.

"Phew, it just ran out!" proclaimed Connie, tapping the fuel tanks on his Maneuver Gear. "We did it, though barely!"

As Mikasa stood up, Connie clapped Arlert on the back. "Well done, dude! Your plan was a success!" Standing, Connie looked around. "Everyone, we have another Abnormal that attacks other Titans!"

And with that, he pointed to the 15 metre. "Not to mention, it doesn't care about us! Think of it as another Barbatos, except not Mechanical. If we can make good use of both Titans, we might just be able to get out of here!"

"Make good use… of Titans?" questioned a Trainee.

"You think we'll be saved by those Titans?" asked a skeptical Jean. "You must be delusional-"

"It's far from delusional," said Mikasa, cutting him off. "The Barbatos has proven that it has no intention in hurting us and this… _Rogue_ Titan seems to be only content on killing Titans. Also, it doesn't matter what they are. All we need is for them to continue their rampage.

* * *

" _Realistically, it's our only plan for survival"_

Inside the chest of the 'Mechanical Titan', a kid was stepping on the thruster units of the Gundam. While he wouldn't consider himself one to be worried, he felt that specific emotion tugging at his chest more than usual. Mainly because he hoped that his friends were alright.

Suddenly, on screen alerts blared on. Looking forward at the optical sensors, he spotted an entire group of Titans, and they spotted him as well.

Boosting forward, he bodyslammed the Barbatos straight into a 14 metre, crashing it into a building. As it regenerated it's torn apart back and random body parts, the 18.8 metre Gundam ripped a sharp wooden support plank off the broken building and stabbed it right into the nape.

Pulling it out, it tossed the wooden 'spear' at a 10 metre, piercing the eye and sending it flying back. Turning, it caught a punch from a 15 metre and tossed it aside. As the Titan it tossed stood up clumsily, and the Barbatos got ready to engage it, until something punched it aside.

When the fat 15 metre got knocked aside, the Mechanical Titan saw another 15 metre, its outstretched to the right. It had a pointy chin and bitching fine black hair. It then turned to the 18.8 metre, staring at it.

Suddenly, it sprung forward, both fists raised. Dropping its weapon, the boy pulled up on the controllers of the Barbatos and caught both fists in its manipulators. Face unit to face with the Titan, nearly two metres away, the Gundam suddenly headbutted the 15 metre, destroying part of the skull and making it stomp back.

Quickly regenerating it's broken cranium, the Titan attempted to punch the waist of Barbatos, only for the fist to be caught easily by the taller MS. It then raised it's left leg, kicking the Barbatos towards the supply depo. Activating the backpack thruster, the boy managed to keep his MS on its feet and not crush the depo station his friends/comrades were in.

Right when the Gundam stood up, the pilot noticed the on screen alerts. Turning, he grabbed the arm controllers and immediately blocked several quick strikes from the Titan. After the 80th strike, and accidentally killing about twenty 3-5 metre Titans by accidentally stepping on them, the larger Titan managed to grab the arms of the shorter one.

Though it would be easy to kill it, something urged the boy to try and reason with the 15 metre. Most likely his instincts. You can't blame him, seeing as his instincts were top class.

Tapping the built in mic, steam was pushed out from its mouthplate. "Hey, you!"

That seemed to get it's attention. The Titan widened it's eyes a tiny bit and growled. "I know you hear me!" continued the boy through the built in microphone. "I'm on your side!"

Unfortunately for the Gundam, the Titan seemed to only get angrier. The boy gritted his teeth. He didn't have time for this, if he was gonna try to reason with this Abnormal, he would need a better plan.

Luckily, the boy noticed an incoming 15 metre. Lifting up the left leg of the Barbatos, he kicked the 'Rogue' Titan aside and raised the left arm. Within a second, he blasted a 2500mm rocket from the arm motor. The blast liquified the Titan, killing it.

Turning his Gundam, he saw the Rogue Titan gettin up. Looking at the MS, it seemed to be observing the 18.8 metre. Grunting, it turned and ran at a big group of Titans.'

Sighing, the pilot massaged his hands as the Gundam Frame expunged steam from the vents on its chest, mouthplate and shins. Grabbing the arm controller of the Gundam, he pulled it to the right and caught a fist with the manipulator. Looking at the Titan, he lifted it up to eye level of the Barbatos.

"Thought you could get the jump on me, didn't you?" he asked, smirking evilly. With a forceful jerk on the arm controller, the Barbatos side armed the Titan straight at the wall of Trost, denting the area it crashed into.

* * *

Inside the depo station, the team managed to clear the entire Titan infestation inside and refueled their gear. Frankly, it was partly thanks to the 'Rogue' Titan and the Barbatos keeping the Titans out from the area though Armin was the one who came up with the plan.

* * *

 _As the lift to the resupply hanger lowered, the Trainees held their breath, rifles in their hands and waiting for the moment to aim._

" _It's good, only seven of them here."_

 _With that said, all twenty or so Trainees aimed their rifles. Turning, a Titan looked at directly at them, scaring a few Trainees. Quickly, Marco told him to calm himself as he aimed. "Let them get closer!"_

 _And they did, slowly tromping over. Unbeknownst to the Titans, several of the best Trainees were on the rafters, including Annie, Mikasa, Reiner, Nac and Mina._

' _We can afford to lose our advantage," thought Reiner, staying quiet. 'If we want everyone to survive… we'll have to decide it with a single blow,"_

' _Wait for it…' thought Nac, motioning to Annie and Mina, who nodded._

 _The Titan came a step closer._

" _Ready… aim..." commanded Marco, fingering the trigger (_ _ **DON'T**_ _you dare misinterpreted that) as the Titan came closer. The freckled boy held the trigger close until it's eye right in front of the barrel._

" _FIRE!"_

 _And with that, the Trainees blasted straight into the eyes of the Titans, blinding them._

 _And with incredible speed, those above the rafters zipped downwards, slashing at the napes of their foes. Mikasa took out a Titan in a single blow along with Reiner and the others._

 _Unfortunately, Sasha and Connie aimed a little too low. And Sasha's target turned to face her with its round, piercing eyes. "U-um… I apologize for sneaking up behind you so suddenly…"_

 _Unfortunately, the Titan declined her apology and walked towards her. Bertolt and Jean ordered for the others to assist, but the 5 metre (or somewhere along there) was already upon her._

 _Cheeks streaming with tears, Sasha only looked up in horror as it descended on her. "I'm…"_

 _Suddenly, it lunged, and Potato Gurl jumped to the right. "SO SORRY!"_

 _Suddenly, Mina came down and slashed the Titan's nape, killing what was supposed to kill her last chapter. And by the side, Annie assisted Connie in taking down his._

" _MINA!"exclaimed Sasha as Mina checked on her. "YOU SAVED ME!"_

" _Are you hurt?" asked the girl before Sasha gave her a very tight hug. "Too tight, Sash…"_

" _NO! THANK YOU!" exclaimed the Potato Queen._

" _Then please let go of me…" pleaded Carolina. Sasha complied and allowed her savior to finally breath._

" _Thanks a bunch, Annie!" yelled Connie as Annie shook her head._

" _I can't believe you're part of the top ten," groaned Annie, making Connie protest._

" _We got all of them!" exclaimed Jean, looking up as Connie protested to Annie. "Start filling your tanks!"_

 _The Trainees up top gave wide smiles, which did falter a bit when the building shook a little (thruster). Though the shaking did cause Marco to nearly faint. Thankfully Carly and Armin got him._

 _Filling up their tanks, the Trainees grinned from ear to ear. They finally had a way to escape! Some were glad they didn't get chomped on while others praised the 'Rogue' Titan and 'Barbatos'._

 _Sasha, on the other manipulator… uh… I mean hand, was ashamed that she surrendered to a Titan. "I'm too ashamed to look anyone in the eyes!"_

" _We'll scorn you for that later!" exclaimed Springer. "Now, we gotta get going!"_

 _With Jean, he told Marco that he never believed he was suited to lead. But Marco disagreed, saying that because he isn't strong, he can sympathize with the feelings of the weak and looking at things objectively, having a clear idea of what needs to be done._

 _He even praised his friend about his orders, saying they were why he was able to move and also why he was still alive. Well, it was partly thanks to the Barbatos as well, but Jean led them here after all._

* * *

"You all ready?" asked Jean, and they responded with yesses. "Than let's roll out!"

"Wrong franchise dude," piped up Sasha.

"Err… I mean let's move!"

Dashing out, the Trainees made their way towards Wall Rose, passing by the Barbatos on the way. The supply team was at first horrified at it, but their peers were going past it as though it were not there, so they did likewise.

Though unlike the others, Mikasa wasn't moving. Instead, she was looking down at a scene. Armin noticed her and zipped upwards, followed by Reiner, Bertolt, Jean and Annie. Nac and Mina let their curiosity take hold of them and went along as well.

When he got up, however, Armin saw something he never expected. Two 13 metres and a 4 metre, eating the Rogue Titan.

Looking to the left, Mina saw the Barbatos taking on it's own horde of ten, maybe more, so it was a little preoccupied to assist. Just a little. So all they could do is to watch the scene in front of them unfold.

"I thought that if we could somehow solve the mystery of those two Titans, it'd become a chance to pull ourselves out of this hopeless reality," said Mikasa.

"I agree," agreed Reiner. "If it gets devoured, we'll be as clueless as ever. Let's assist both and keep that Abnormal alive for now. We can dissect the Barbatos later if needed."

"Are you serious, Reiner?!" exclaimed Jean. "We can finally get out of this hellhole, you know?!"

"But there's a chance that both Titans could become strong allies with humanity," replied Annie.

"But-" began Jean.

"Do you think that a slash can be compared to the punch of that Abnormal?" cut off Annie, glaring at him. "Or a cannon round will be more powerful than the Mechanical ones strikes?"

"I agree with Annie," commented Mina, making her friend look at her. "The Barbatos has shown to be friendly towards humanity, and the Abnormal, so far, only targets Titans."

Nodding, Annie looked back at Jean. "They would make for powerful allies."

"Allies?" questioned the guy. "Do you two hear what you're saying?"

However, before he continued, Armin noticed a Titan lumbering towards the Abnormal. A _familiar_ one. "That's… the Abnormal that ate Thomas…"

As if on cue, the one pinned down sprang forward, roaring even more furiously than before, earning the attention of the Barbatos, who was finishing its course, and the Trainees. Running at full speed, one of it's arms tore off from a Titan's fat ass being on it while the other just fell off, cuz why not?.

Limbless and pretty much with no way of attack, the Abnormal did the most unexpected, and the most gangsta, thing ever.

It bit it's foe by the neck. Sinking it's teeth into the nape, the Abnormal raised it high in the air as if it earned a trophy. However, its ribcage we slowly breaking down, so it had to be fast in disposing the last remaining Titans in the area.

Turning it's eyeball to the right, the Abnormal swung the one it caught at a 5 metre, sending it flying, before swinging it the opposite way, sending a 14 metre crashing inside a building. After it finished its impressive killing spree, it opened it's jaw and let the corpse of the Abnormal fall before letting out a roar.

As the Barbatos got rid of the last Titan in the area, the Abnormal fell flat on it's face. Jean was rather glad at that, however. "Looks like it finally ran outta gas…"

Hearing stomping noises, Mina looked over and saw the Barbatos walking over to the Titan's body. Standing before it, the thing stared down at the Rogue, the eyes not leaving the thing.

"Time to go, there's no way that thing co-" started Jean, but he was cut off when he noticed that the others, including the Gundam, were looking down in shock (we dunno what the Barbatos was thinking (sorta) so it doesn't count) as the something emerged from the Rogue's nape.

As it did, Mikasa widened her eyes in complete shock. Quickly, she zipped down and onto the floor, not caring about the protests of her friends or the Mechanical Titan. There was only one thing on her mind right now.

As through the steam which emerged from the 'Rogue' Titan's nape, Mikasa spotted a familiar child kneeling, unconscious.

Once she landed, Mikasa hugged the kid closely, saying nothing as she made sure she wasn't hallucinating. She than widened her eyes and held her head close to the child's heart, listening for a heartbeat.

Though slow, they were there, signifying that her brother was still alive. Overwhelmed by her own happiness, Mikasa began to shed uncharacteristic tears as she held her brother close. Slowly, the tears became so frequent that she started to cry, which greatly surprised the Trainees as they zipped down.

Atop the Supply Depo, thanks to Barbatos, the eight of them, once again including Barbatos, watched as Mikasa hugged Eren Jaeger close to her, occasionally sniffing. Armin was shocked beyond belief while Mina and Nac remained confused. First the Barbatos, now this?

Armin then reached for his friend's hand and held it. "What… in the world…?"

Tightening his grip, Armin only looked at his pal in pure shock and joy. But Jean turned back, along with the other Trainees. "Does that mean… both Eren and Barbatos did this?"

"I came only about thirty minutes ago," came the Barbatos' voice, making them look at it. "most of the destruction is from Eren."

"No way…"

* * *

 **Holy moly that took a while. Anyways, I'm sure this is probably better than the previous part, but probably not by much. I'll have to edit this sometime soon.**

 **Anyhoo, special thanks to the admittedly awesome Ghost259 for the compliment. And I'll be changing the tenses sometime in the future.**

 **NOW, a question. Any thoughts on pairings? I dunno since it could be tough, but I feel like it could work. I'll let you guys decide that one. And I should fix the cover picture as well.**

 **Anyhoo! Let's get to the next chapter, once I type it out.**

* * *

 _Le static_

The Gundam suddenly headbutted the 15 metre, destroying part of the skull and making it stomp back.

"Ow!" exclaimed the guy in the costume.

"Too hard?" replied the guy in the Gundam armour as the director stopped the scene

 _Le static_

"Allies?" questioned the guy. "Do you two hear what you're saying?"

"For fuck sake, Jean. You should know what I mean," replied Annie, before everyone burst out laughing, even director Stryker.

"Alright..." started the director. "Retake… retake."

 _Le static_

As if on cue, Mikasa crashed in, with Connie holding Armin bridal style. "Phew, it's just ran out. We did it, though barely!"

"Can you let me down now?" asked Armin.

"Shhhhh, this is what the fangirls want."

 **Roll da cedits**

 **Edited on 16/6/17**


	10. The big plan(or something related to it)

**Holy slag this took a long time. But still, it's here! Da Struggle for Trost part 3! Also how'd this become the number 1 most favorited story in the IBO section? I should feel proud tbh...**

 **Anyway, what was I doing again… oh right! Story**

* * *

"I'll kill them all…"

Turning to face Eren, the Trainees widened widened their eyes when he said that in a creepy tone.

After about ten minutes on the Supply Depo's highest tower, and after the Barbatos stomped several 3 metres, the group settled on the safest way to get to Rose.

Riding on the 18.8 metre.

And considering it could kick a 15 metre away with one leg, that seemed like the best. I mean, there were downsides, like the constant shaking and threat of falling off to an ugly death. But hey, it's either this or going around on foot.

With the eight of them gathered on the Barbatos, they waited in awkward silence for them to return to HQ. Occasionally, Reiner would ask a few questions to break the awkward silence and the occasional sniff from Mikasa.

"What are you, anyways?"

"A Gundam."

"What's that?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"I bet I can."

"Then I'll tell you when we're done here."

"Fine," finished an admittedly bummed out Reiner, looking back forward. After about 15 minutes, and stomping on a few Titans for fun, they finally reached Wall of Rose. As the Gundam approached, the Survey Corps/Garrison screamed and/or stepped back in terror. Hell, they saw several aiming the cannons at them, though not blasting due to the Trainees being on it.

Ignoring all that, the Barbatos knelt down and let the soldiers off it's mechanical palm. The human gates which led into Rose rotated up, allowing passage inside for the Trainees. And greeting them were Coral and Riko, who were the only ones willing to let them in.

As Nac stepped onto the wall, he, Mina and Annie looked back at the Barbatos. "Hey, what are you gonna do?"

"Keep em' away," replied the Gundam very simply, making Tias nod.

"Good luck," called Mina, beside her friends.

"I don't believe in luck," whispered the Gundam, turning and grabbing a 15 metre by the head. Raising up the Titan by the skull, it stared into the clasped head. "And I'm sure you guys don't either, right?"

And with that, it crushed its entire head.

* * *

"I'll kill them all…"

Again, Eren repeated that statement with a lustful look in his eyes, causing his friend to look at him worriedly. "Eren…"

Opening his eyes, Jaeger realized that he, Armin and Mikasa were surrounded by Survey Corps/Garrison, all with their swords out. Mikasa had hers out as well, but she was defending them instead.

"Eren!" yelled his sister, looking back and giving a fearful look.

"Can you move?" questioned Armin. "Are you back to yourself now? Tell us everything that happened! I'm sure they'll understand!"

"Armin…?" said Eren in a questioning tone before a dude cut him off.

"Hear that?" came a voice. "He said "I'll Kill you all.""

"Yeah, no doubt about it," added a Garrison. "He wants to devour us all, along with his mechanical buddy."

' _What are they saying…?'_ thought Eren. ' _Why do they have their blades out against us?! They're for killing Titans! Why are they all glowering at me like that?!'_

' _What's going on?!'_

* * *

Sitting on a bench/table, the newly returned Team Jean (temporary name, go with it for now) drank some water from flasks and caught their breath. As they did, Connie, Ymir and Hi- I mean, Krista stood with them, asking about their well being.

"And that's how we got out of Trost," finished Connie, not looking his best. When he finished, he got the pitying looks from Ymir and Krista

"I'm so sorry…" apologised Krista. "We tried to get them to send reinforcements to back you guys up…"

"We even managed to secure some gas for you guys," added Ymir, her joking attitude gone as she scratched the back of her head.

"Wait… so the people who aren't here…" started Krista, looking worried.

"Yeah," answered Connie sadly.

"Even Mikasa?" questioned Ymir, sounding a little worried as losing Ackerman would be a big hit to the soldiers.

"I thought she came back with Jean's team," replied Connie.

Turning to the boy in question, Ymir, Krista and Connie asked what happened to her.

They expected at least one of them to answer, but they didn't even look at them. Annie looked about ten times more grumpy, Reiner, Mina and Nac had lost their cheerful attitude, Bertolt was still as sad as he usually was, and Jean was just sitting on the table, a flask in his hand.

"What's wrong?" asked Connie after a short while, making Jean turn to him. Lifting the flask, Jean took a large gulp of water.

"We were sworn to keep it secret," replied Jean simply.

"Secret?" repeated Ymir.

"It's one they can't hold for too long," continued Jean. "Soon, all of mankind will know about it… only if mankind survives long enough anyways."

"Do you mean the Barbatos?" asked Connie. "I mean, the thing isn't too bad."

"It's not the Gundam, Connie," piped up Bertolt. "It's something else…"

* * *

"Let me be frank!" exclaimed Commander Kitz . "What are you?! Human, or Titan?!"

' _What's with that question…'_ thought Eren. ' _It's like they're all staring at a… monster. Is that what they think I am…?_

"I… I don't understand that question!" exclaimed Eren, making the bearded dude flinch.

"Feigning ignorance? Damn monster, I dare you to try that again!" yelled the walking cucumber. "We'll blast you to pieces in an instant! We won't even give you time to show your true colours!"

"True colours?" repeated Eren, not knowing what he meant.

"There are plenty of witnesses!" yelled Kitz. "We saw you emerge from within a Titan. And when in said Titan form, you were assisted by the Mechanical Titan! Mankind has allowed strange creatures like you to get past Wall Rose, and even let stranger ones come close to it!"

"Even if you're part of the Training Corps, which is under the king's authority, the risk you present is too serious to ignore! No doubt about it!

"There's a chance that the Armored Titan that broke through Wall Maria could at any moment! Mankind's once again stands at the brink of extinction! Understand?! We cannot afford to waste further troops or time on either you or that Mechanical Titan!"

"We'll just bombard you lot with high-explosive shells!"

And when he said that, he gave them the index finger.

"They're clearly not defiant," stated Riko with a blank face. "And I doubt we'll get any useful intel from them. The ones who interacted most with the Mechanical Titan are not here, and I doubt Jaeger would tell us, so as you say, this is a waste of both troops and time."

"I agree, it'll be easy now!" exclaimed a random Garrison.

"We can blow him away while he's still in his human form!" added another.

And while most soldiers would be terrified at this sight, Mikasa held strong. And by strong I mean stone cold and emotionless.

"My specialty lies in cutting up flesh," said Mikasa coldly. "If needed, I am prepared to display my skills in full. So, if anyone wishes to experience my abilities firsthand, you may step forth."

As she said that, Mikasa unsheathed both her blades and held them tight, ready to uphold her promise. And the dark aura which surrounded her, because anime, proved it.

"Commander," started a Garrison Elite with greenish hair. "That is Mikasa Ackerman, a part of our Elite rear guard. She alone is worth a hundred average soldiers. Losing her would be a massive blow to mankind."

"Mikasa! Armin!" began Jaeger, still confused. "What's going on?!"

"Mikasa!" said Armin, ignoring Eren's question. "We can't fight our own! Besides, where will we run within these walls?!"

"I do not care who my opponent is," replied Mikasa coldly. "I am not letting anyone kill Eren… and I could care less about anything else."

"No one knows what's going on!" retorted Armin. "Their fears are making them run rampant!"

' _So… they're the only ones who think that I'm not a Titan?!'_ thought Eren. ' _Dammit! I don't even have any memory of how I got here! I'm too worn out to even stand…_

' _Getting killed by humans… that's just absurd!'_ thought Jaeger, again. ' _I emerged from a Titan's body?! What does that even mean? Does he even know what he's saying?! Wasn't… wasn't it just a dream?_

' _If no…. that means… everything below my sleeve… my arm… grew back?!'_ continued Eren's thoughts. ' _Just like a Titan's! That's… not possible! How'd… how did I…'_

"I'll ask you once more!" exclaimed Kitz, regaining his attention. "What are you?!"

When Kitz said that, both Ackerman and Arlert turn to face Eren, who was silent.

' _I can't say anything wrong…'_ thought Eren (again). ' _It's not just my life at stake now… that's right… all my life, I've been just like you…' '_

"I…" began Jaeger, making the Garrison tense up. "I'm human!"

When he said that, the air around them got dead silent.

"I see…" muttered Kitz, a shadow casted over his eye. "Do not think badly of me…"

And with that said, Kitz began to raise his arm to signal an 'open fire'. "No man can prove it… that neither of them are not devils…"

Widening their eyes, the trio hoped that he didn't signal it, but that hope was shattered when he fully raised his arm.

"Eren, Armin!" exclaimed Mikasa, rushing towards her two mates. "We're going up!"

* * *

 **Meanwhile**

Sitting on the bench, Mina looked down at her own hands, feeling an odd sense of depression sinking into her. Beside the girl, Nac placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"What's wrong, Mina?" asked Nac, worried.

"It's just…" began Mina, not looking at him. "I knew that joining the military would be hard… but…"

"You never expected it to be this hard," came Annie's voice, making the two look up and see Annie walking towards them. "That there would not be this much bloodshed?"

"Well… yeah," replied Mina.

"This isn't a fairy tail, Mina," said Annie, sounding as disheartened as ever "People won't come back after they die. And there are no such things as happy endings.

"Just look around," continued Ann, turning to the side, where Marco desperately tried to stop Dazz from stabbing himself, Sasha holding her stomach in pain, several Trainees with dark and defeated looks on their faces, and several others being carted off.

"Many of them have given up, some have gone mad, and most have lost all hope," she finished. "Do you think that we can retake Trost with troops who let their fear take over?"

Looking down, Mina did not reply, simply staring at the floor sadly. Nac, on the other hand, stood up.

"How could you say such a thing, Ann?" muttered Nac, not wanting to disturb the other Trainees around the area. "They're trying their hardest to keep it together! Besides, this is their first Titan hunt! And to add on, it's also an invasion!"

"Then they should try harder and man up," retorted Annie, poking Nac harshly in the chest. "But it doesn't matter. If they do not have hope, they have no reason to be on the battlefield."

Opening his mouth, Nac was about to reply to that, but he found no way to do so. Looking down, the boy sighed in defeat. As he did, however, the small group heard the sound of a cannon firing, accompanied by a lightning strike. Immediately forgetting about their feud, the two dashed into the opening to see what happened.

"Cannonfire?!" proclaimed Jean. "But… why only one round?"

As the soldiers/trainees wondered, Annie walked beside Reiner and looked up at him. Looking down at the blonde, Reiner saw Annie nod subtly. Grunting, Braun gritted his teeth before he activated his Maneuver Gear and fired his wires towards the area.

"H-Hey!" proclaimed Jean, stepping forward to try and stop Reiner, but he was a little too fast. And besides, Annie, Mina, Nac and Bertolt were already launching towards the place. Gritting his teeth, Jean followed suit.

And when they reached the place, they stood atop a nearby building and stared down at a large dust cloud.

"What is that…" muttered Reiner. And when she said that, the dust began to slowly settle, abiet only a little, revealing…

"That's…" muttered Mina, stepping back in fear.

"E-Eren…?" finished Bertolt with wide eyes.

"Stay alert!" came a yell, making them turn down and spot Commander Kitz. When they spotted him, Nac and Reiner immediately huffed in anger. Neither boy liked the heavily bearded man, seeing as Kitz was a paranoid fucker when in any kind of stressful situation, leading him to act rashly and not consider all aspects of the problem in front of him.

Now imagine him looking after a Titan Shifter and imagine how paranoid he'll get.

"Stand by!" ordered Kitz as Rose shook a little bit thanks to an… aphem… outside force. "Ready another round!"

As they did, Reiner turned to Bertolt, giving his tall pal with a skeptical look. Bertolt returned it in full. Suddenly, steam blasted out from the back of the dilapidated Titan's neck, causing Jean. Mina and Nac to step back, though the other three hardly flinched.

* * *

"I remember hearing the cannon shot…" muttered Armin, still in shock, with his messed up hair. "There was an awful noise… an impact… and then the heat… and now we're now in a giant skelet…"

"Eren saved us," came Mikasa's voice behind him. "It is all we need to know for now."

When she said that, Armin gave a slight smile to her, before noticing something nearby. A small patch of grass… with three purplish flowers in the area. ' _Even the flowers were spared…?'_

On a side note, that is kinda preposterous. Did you see all that destruction after the cannon round was shot? I'm sure the heat from Eren's Titan form would burn that thing or it would have been uprooted when the cannon impacted or when Eren transformed and the steam was made.

But I'd digress. Stuff from other anime are even more absurd. I'm looking at you, Highschool of the Dead.

Anyways…

"Are you ok?" came Eren's voice as they spotted his silhouette coming towards them through the fog of dust. Or is it just a dust cloud? "Are you ok?"

"E-Eren!" proclaimed Armin. "What is this?!"

"I… don't know!" replied Eren. "But… it's evaporating…"

As he said that, he looked out of the dust and saw the other soldiers either conversing about the issue or standing guard. Though he didn't noticed our pals standing atop a building.

"The Garrison don't see us!" announced Eren. "We should move… they're waiting for the cloud to clear, and I doubt that they'll let us go after seeing this…

"But…" continued Jaeger. "I remembered something…" as he said that, Jaeger held the key around his neck. "This key… one for my basement at my old house… my father said that I'd understand everything if I went there…

"He's also the reason I'm like this… if we get to that basement, we might probably be able to find the truth about the Titans…" said Eren, before he slammed his fist into his own (Titan) skeleton, breaking it a tiny bit. "Dammit! Why did he keep it a secret… this is the intel the Survey Corps were searching for… intel which cost thousands of lives! It's mankind's last hope! And he was just keeping it… locked up in our bloody basement?! What the Hell was he thinking?!

"Where has he been these past years…" continued Eren, apparently forgetting that he nommed on his papa.

"Eren," came Mikasa's voice, making him stop his long ass expedition dump. I should thank Mikasa for that. "We have more pressing matters at the moment…"

"The smoke is lifting," informed Nac, who was kneeling down alongside Jean, their eyes narrowed and trying to see what the heck was inside.

As he said that, Kitz yelled another order. "Do not leave your positions! We attack once we see them!"

* * *

"That bloody moron…" muttered Nac, making the others look at him, surprised that he would call anyone a moron. "He wants to take out one of our best chances to push back the Titans…"

"He isn't wrong," agreed Jean. "With Eren fighting with the Barbatos, our chances of retaking Trost go up significantly."

As he said that, the group heard a loud crunch, and turned back to the scene, only to see Eren's Titan skeleton falling apart. When they hit the ground, the pieces exploded into ash, or dust if you will, causing yet another smokescreen, except much darker than before.

The dust was rather strong, as it knocked some of the Garrison down and even made some of them step back. It nearly knocked Mina back, though Reiner caught the shorter girl.

"Thanks, Reiner," thanked Mina.

"No prob, Mina," replied Reiner, before they turned back, watching the rest of the skeleton break apart.

"The cannon is loaded!" announced Riko after some time, causing the group up top to tense up. "We can fire at your command."

"They can't just-" exclaimed Nac, before Annie held him back.

"We can't do anything, Nac," she said. "If we try and help, they will consider us traitors and eliminate us."

"So we just stand here and wait?!" proclaimed Nac. And Annie only nodded.

"It's all we can do," confirmed Annie, making Nac grit his teeth. Keeping his cool, he turned back to the body.

"I know how it feels, Nac," said Jean, making Tias turn to him. "That feeling you get when you can't do anything to help… it's something, eh?"

"Yeah…" replied Nac. "It is…"

And as those words left his lips, the sound of metal hitting the floor sent their attention back to the scene, and they saw Armin bursting out of the dust and soot, hands held in the air.

Quickly aiming, a Garrison pointed his rifle at the boy. Nac was about to get the man to stop, but Annie held him back.

"You finally shown your true colours, monster!" exclaimed Kitz once more. "I'll signal! I'll signal the cannons to fire!"

"He isn't mankind's enemy!" exclaimed Armin, shaking in fear. "We're willing to share all the intelligence we have!"

"Begging for your lives is useless now!" exclaimed Kitz, his mouth bigger than ever. "He has revealed his true form right in front of us! There is nothing left to say! If you say that he is not our enemy, then prove it! If not, we will obliterate you!"

"There is no need for further proof!" proclaimed Armin as Wall Rose shook once more. "The issue isn't how we see him!"

"What?!" proclaimed Kitz.

"You said that everyone saw both Eren!" continued Armin. "Then they must have seen him fight the Titans as well! And that the Titans were also targeting him! They see Eren as prey! Nothing you say can change that fact!"

When he said that, several Garrison members began to whisper around.

"He's not lying…"

"But… Titans… as allies? That's preposterous…"

As they wondered, and as Rose shook for the third time in a row, the Garrison who were keeping an eye on Jaeger, Ackerman and Arlert lowered their defensive stances, and that one dude with the rifle lowering the gun.

As for Kitz, the man was seemingly letting his paranoia take hold, seeing as he didn't want to accept this.

"Prepare to attack!" ordered Kitz, shocking the others. "Do not fall for this deceitful trap! Their actions have always been beyond our comprehension! If they can transform into humans and learn our language, that may very well be just another way to fool us! We cannot let them do as they please!"

"This man is crazy…" muttered Bertolt as the Garrison surrounding the group reassumed their aggressive positions.

' _No good…'_ thought Armin. ' _He's stopped thinking entirely… he's too scared to think…'_

Turning around, Armin begged that both his friends would assist, but they did not, instead giving him fierce stares, stares which told him that their lives were in his hands.

And when he realized that, Armin turned back and slammed his fist against his heart/chest.

"As a soldier, I swore to devote my heart to the resurrection of mankind!" exclaimed Armin. "There is no greater glory than to die for that belief! If we added the might of both Eren and the Barbatos to our troops, it might very well be possible to retake our District! For the glory of the human race, I beg of you, in the final moments of my life! Permit me to explain this strategic importance!"

And when he said that, the air became ice cold. The Trainees up top were stunned by this display of bravery from Armin. Hell, even Annie's stone cold expression changed.

When he said that, the atmosphere, once again, turned silent, with the only sound being the breath of the Garrison/Trainees as they awaited Kitz's response.

"Do you think…" muttered Reiner.

"Commander…" began the dark blonde haired man beside Kitz, cutting Reiner off. "Perhaps we should co-"

"SILENCE!" exclaimed Kitz, raising his arm, making the Trainees widen their eyes. Armin followed suit, widening his large eyes even more. Mikasa simply reached for a blade from Armin's detached Maneuver Gear, and Eren raised his hand to his mouth.

Swinging his arm down, Kitz ordered for the cannon to fire, until that arm was caught by a newcomer.

"Cut it out already," said the newcomer, making Kitz widen those sunken in eyes. "You still haven't changed. As big as you are, you still have the guts of a freshman Trainee."

With that said, the man let go of Kitz's arm, and the the Trainees saw who it was. With his bald head and bitchin' fine mustache, it was none other than the man himself, Commander Dot Pixis.

"Commander Pixis…" muttered Nac, recognising the Garrison Commander. "Why is he…"

"As the Commander of the Garrison," replied Reiner, making the other Trainees up top look at him. "I'm sure the king would want him to check on his troops."

"Do you not," said Pixis, diverting their attention back to those down below. "See the brilliance of that salute?"

Stepping forward, Pixis smiled proudly at Armin.

"I just arrived, but the situation was relayed to me by a messenger. He told me about Jaeger and the one known as 'Barbatos'," said Pixis, motioning back. And to the Trainee who were up top's surprise, they saw Coral. And the man saw them as well, giving them a two fingered salute. "Go organize reinforcements. I think that it would be worthwhile to listen to what they wish to say."

When he said that, Armin fell to his knees, Eren lowered his hand and Mikasa released the sword in her grip.

' _Thank the Gods…'_ thought Armin, smiling in relief.

* * *

Atop Wall Rose, Commander Pixis strolled along the place as though there weren't any Titans trying to eat those inside. Alongside him were Mikasa, Armin, Eren and Coral, who Pixis personally instructed to join them.

After a few seconds of walking, Pixis looked down the side of Rose, as a pack of Titans who were trying to climb up or just looking up at them.

"I have still yet to see one…" said Pixis with a sigh. "I wouldn't mind being eaten… as long as it was by an exquisitely fine looking Female."

Ok that is kinda weird, but whatever.

* * *

 **Within Rose**

"What is the Commander thinking…?" groaned Kitz, turning up to the top of the Wall. "How could he take such dangerous beings up there with just one guard?!"

"The Commander's reasoning is beyond any normal man's comprehension," piped up Riko.

"Commander," came the dark blonde man's voice. "The troops are in place…"

"Good job," said Kitz, before turning to the troops, who all shared the same look. A look of hopelessness.

Among those Trainees were our trio, who were looking up at the Wall of Rose. While Annie only looked up to keep boredom away, Mina and Nac looked up for a different reason.

"Do you think they'll ask the Gundam to assist?" asked Mina.

"I dunno…" replied Nac. "But I do hope so, since it's our best chance of survival at the moment. Eren is new to his powers and may not be able to control it, so we can't rely too much on him."

* * *

 **Back up top**

"I see," said Pixis after Eren explained the plan. "So, you believe that the basement under your home in Shiganshina holds the secret of the Titan?"

"I do…" replied Eren weakly.

"I see," muttered Pixis, turning around. "Let's just say that I'll keep that in mind for now."

And he tapped his forehead as he said that.

"However, you may prove your true intentions right now," continued Pixis. "If they are not against mankind, I can guarantee your safety. You have my word."

"Cadet Arlert, is it?" asked Pixis.

"Yes sir!" replied Armin, straightening himself.

Armin nodded and Pixis continued. "Earlier, you said if we utilize the "Titans power", it'd be possible to recapture the town, did you not? Did you truly believe that,or was it a vain act of desperation?"

"It was… both!" replied Armin. "What I was trying to say back then was that Eren could carry the large boulder to seal the destroyed gate in his Titan form. As he does this, the Barbatos and the other soldier's can keep the Titans away. And if Eren were to fall, the Barbatos could very well take up the task."

"In truth, it was an idea I came up on the spot…" admitted Armin sheepishly.

That earned him some skeptical looks from his friends, but he went on. "But couldn't you not look at Eren's power and the Gundam as a chance to turn the balance of power to our favor? I hoped the possibility to break out of the deadlock could be seen in Eren's power."

Grunting, Pixis looked back down at the group of 7-15 metres. "Of course, it was a genuine attempt to survive."

"Desperate attempt to survive…" echoed Pixis, smiling. "Those words are the most truthful thing I've heard in awhile."

When he said that, the three Trainees tensed up, thinking that Pixis would reject the offer. But instead, he asked another question.

"Now, I would like to know," began Pixis. "Where is this Mechanical Titan I keep hearing the soldier's whisper about?"

When he asked, Coral went beside Pixis and began looking down the wall.

"Last I remember," replied Coral, not seeing much. "It was by the Wall, keeping the Titans away."

And when those words left his mouth, a small (when compared to the others anyways) cloud of dust was seen near where they stood. Raising his eyebrows, Pixis turned to Coral.

"I presume that the thing which made that is the Mechanical Titan?" he asked. "If not, may God help us all."

After Coral shrugged, and after Armin, Mikasa and Eren went over to the edge, with Eren being supported up by Mikasa, they saw something within the cloud. Twin green lights, bright and piercing.

And slowly, the dust lifted, slowly revealing what was within. First they saw a white/blue arm and grey shoulderpad, followed by a predominantly white body accented with dark blue, gold and grey, with white legs and finally, an armoured head with no visible mouth and a large antenna on it's forehead, the right side snapped off.

If Pixis wasn't informed that it was a Titan which was on their side like Eren was, he would have been convinced that this was a Devil who came from the depths of Hell to say 'hi, I'm here to kill you'.

As Pixis looked down at it, Eren found that his eyes were widening beyond belief.

' _W-What… what is that?!'_ thought Jaeger, jerking his head to Armin, seeing if his friend had any clue on how to kill the thing which was trying to break into Rose (at least, that's what he thought). But to his utter surprise, Armin wasn't even flinching in fear. Instead, he was looking at it with a slight smile.

Whirling to the side, Eren was about to ask Mikasa or Coral, but he was once again stunned to find that they weren't at all scared, shocked or even surprised. Mikasa didn't give it a smile, but she made no threatening gestures. Coral, on the other hand, had his arms cross and a smile on his face.

' _What the Hell happened when I was out?!"_ exclaimed Eren in his head.

As Eren wandered around in his thoughts, Pixis turned to Coral. "So, is this the Mechanical Titan?"

"It is," confirmed Coral.

"Commander Pixis," piped up Armin, making the Commando look at him. "During our time in Trost, the Titan has referred to itself as 'Gundam Barbatos'."

"Gundam?" echoed Pixis, making Armin nod. When Armin made the motion, Pixis gave a huff.

Great, another Titan to add into the big history books. First there were normal 3-15 metre classes, then Abnormals. Five years prior came the Armoured and the Colossal (the Barbatos technically had a place there, but most people in Trost dismissed it as a hoax. Hell, Erwin didn't have a high enough rank to place it in the book at that time). Now came this… Barbatos.

He could only imagine how much Hanji would freak out.

Suddenly, a slight crash got Pixis to turn back to see the Barbatos, who had slammed a large, pale grey weapon onto a 4 metre Titan. Following that, it slammed a 13 metre class with that 'mace', sending it flying into Rose.

"It's fighting prowess is impressive," complemented Pixis as the Gundam kicked a 3 metre class. And after it finished the last Titan in the vicinity by slamming its fist into the nape, Pixis decided to call down to it. "So, you are the Gundam Barbatos which I keep hearing of?"

When he said that, the Barbatos straightened out and looked up at him with those piercing green optics. Those two orbs of light horrified Eren, seeing as they looked even more emotionless than an average Titan's, bent in a permanent enraged look (at least from the angle which he saw it from).

But what really hit home the freakiness of the 'Barbatos' to Eren was what happened next. After some steam was expelled from it's 'mouth', and the bloody thing spoke.

"Ah," it said, surprising Pixis and horrifying Eren.

Eren had his eyes widened beyond belief, shocked that the thing could speak. Yet, when he looked between his Commanding Officer's, friend and (sorta) sister, he was baffled when he saw that they were not shocked at in the least.

Pixis, on the other hand, was more interested as to why it sounded so young. Titans have been around for as long as mankind (at least). Many soldiers, civilians, and even Pixis himself have wondered what one would sound like if it spoke. Many have said that they would sound like old men or something like that. So hearing a 'Titan' sound so young was odd for Pixis.

"I am," piped up the Barbatos again, causing the two's attention to be directed back at it.

"My soldier here." he points to Coral, who waved, " told me that you are mankind's ally and that you have helped us during the Fall of Shiganshina. Is that true?"

"It is," replied the Gundam simply, straightening out.

"Good, now, Trainee Arlert," said Pixis, motioning to Armin. "Has devised a plan to recapture Trost. And we will need your assistance."

"Sure," it said nonchalantly.

"But if we succeed, your fate will remain unknown," warned Pixis. "We could very well try to terminate you."

"It's better to trust in fate than to be out here," said the thing flatly. "The Titans see me as a source of food after all."

"I see," muttered Pixis, smiling. "So, you are willing to assist us?"

When he asked, the Barbatos' 'eyes' flashed green as it nodded. With it confirmed to be on their side, Pixis now turned to Eren.

"So, Eren," started Pixis. "Will you do it?"

"Sir?" muttered Eren with wide eyes.

"Can you block the hole?" repeated Pixis.

"That's… I… I don't know…" replied Eren, making his pal/commanders/sister flinch. "At the moment, my guess is as good as yours…"

"My apologies," said Pixis, making Eren raise his brows. "I worded it wrongly."

And suddenly, Pixis lost the old grandfather personality.

"Will you do it or not?" he said, his voice hard.

When he asked that, Eren flinched. Those six words had a lot of weight on them, seeing as if he said yes, it would mean that he had to get it right. If not, humanity would lose, again.

Gritting his teeth, Eren nodded. "I will…"

And though those words were easy to say, he knew that it would need a ton of responsibility to carry it out.

* * *

"A plan to retake Trost?!"

"As if we have the tech to plug that hole in the gate…"

"What're the higher ups thinking?!"

"Damn, are they that starved for glory?!"

And those were probably the nicest comments when the Military heard they were going to try and retake Trost. Currently, the entire brigade of Trainees + Garrison awaited the orders of the higher ups.

In the middle of it all, Nac and Mina were slowly starting to believe what Annie said, that soldiers devoid of hope are not suited to be on the battlefield.

"No! I don't want to die!" exclaimed a particularly paranoid member, getting their attention. "Let me see my family!"

"Hey Dazz, you're too loud!" proclaimed Marco, who was trying to calm him down.

"Hey, you! I heard that!" exclaimed a higher up (I presume anyways). "Are you planning to abandon your line of duty?!"

"Yes, that's right!" replied Dazz. "There's nothing to be gained in this mass suicide mission!"

The higher up than reached for his blades. "How dare you make a mockery of mankind and order?! I'll have you know I have the authority to execute you on the spot!"

"Fine by me," shot back Dazz, unsheathing his blades. "It'll be a hundred times better than getting devoured by a Titan!"

"Stop, Dazz!" yelled Marco.

"Get off! Don't touch me! I'm not going back there!" retaliated Dazz, apparently getting a little of what I'd call the 'Kitz syndrome' where you get very paranoid.

Anyways…

Though he was the loudest, he wasn't the only one here who had the thought of rebelling. Two girls standing in front of Jean and Bertolt had the idea, but it got the attention of a fellow member. "Hey you two!"

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean-"

"Do it," he started. The girl didn't know what he meant, but he continued. "Make a real scene. With as many people as you can. Many of us Garrison aren't in agreement too. We'll take advantage of the chaos and escape!"

"Where would you go then?" questioned Jean.

"I'll go see my daughter!" exclaimed the man. "The Wall won't hold for long, after all. Even if the 'Mechanical Titan' is on our side, it'll be overrunned soon. And eventually, the Armoured Titan will come by and break down the Wall!"

As the chaos increased, not helped by the actual chaos outside and the Barbatos once in a while slamming Titans onto the Wall, shaking it, Pixis walked alongside Eren towards the gates of Rose.

After they reached the gates, and after Eren spat the alcohol Pixis offered him out his mouth, the commando looked down at his panicking Military branches. He cleared his throat, resulting in the expected, having none of them calm down.

Taking in a deep breath, he let out a loud roar.

" **ATTENTION**!"

And that sure as hell got their attention. No longer in his nice guy attitude, Pixis looked down sternly at his branches. "I will now elaborate on the plan to recapture the Trost District! The objective of this plan is to seal the hole in the destroyed gate!"

And that earned him many skeptical looks from his peers. "I will now explain how we intend to seal the hole!" he exclaimed, earning the attention of another entity beyond Wall Rose. "Belonging to the Trainee Corps, this is Eren Jaeger!"

"E-Eren?!" exclaimed Connie, looking up.

"He is the product of a successful top-secret Titan transformation research,capable of generating a Titan's body and move it according to his will!" he exclaimed/explained.

"Is the commander making absolutely no sense right now or am I just stupid?" questioned Connie.

"Shut up for a bit, Stupid," replied Ymir and Annie in sync.

"In Titan form, he'll lift the large boulder in the vicinity of the front gate, carry it to the destroyed gate, and seal it! While he does so, it will be your job to protect him until he completes this objective!"

When he said that, many soldiers seemed skeptical, not knowing if they could take on the sheer numbers within Trost. But Pixis ignored all the chit chat and continued. "Joining you in this battle will be the Gundam Barbatos, who has declared itself an ally of mankind. The Trainees, Garrison members and the Gundam shall defend Eren until he has accomplished his objective. You shall not attack the Barbatos unless it provokes you, am I understood?!"

And that made many of the Garrison and Trainees tense up in fear, as fighting alongside a newly discovered Titan was risky, as it could turn on them at any time.

"If Eren is to fall, the Barbatos will take over. All troops are to not attack it as well. Remember your duty is to protect either from the other Titans until the boulder has been placed!"

Though Pixis explained it rather clearly, the Military groups were clearly weary of this. Many protested and some even turned to leave. Kitz, however, had some other more ruthless plans for them.

"I hope you've said your prayers!" he exclaimed. "I'll hack you down where you stand!"

But before he could even do so, Pixis yelled out, absolutely serious this time. "Heed my command! Those who desert us now will be pardoned! Once a man surrenders to their fear of Titans," Wall rumbled again, "they are no longer fit for battle! Those who've experienced that fear are free to leave!"

When he said that, the deserters were about to leave, until he continued.

"Furthermore, those who want your parents, siblings and loved ones to experience that fear themselves may also leave!"

And that stopped those leaving dead in their tracks. "I can't let that happen… my daughter is my last hope…"

And with that, those leaving immediately turned back, rejoining their fellow soldiers.

"Let us think back to four years ago, recall the plans to recapture Wall Maria," reminded Pixis. "Though I presume you all know this without me having to say, the plan sounded glorious, but in essence, it was a way to rid ourselves of the unemployed that the government was unable to support!

"The only reason why everyone maintained their silence was because we managed to survive within these walls thanks to their sacrifices! All of mankind bears that sin, including myself! Because the inhabitants of Wall Maria were few in number, the conflict did not escalate. But what about now?!

"If Wall Rose is breached, reducing the mouths to feed won't suffice! Not even half the remaining population can be supported within Sina! Should mankind cease to exist, it would not be because we were all devoured by Titans! We humans would be our own end!"

"We mustn't die within narrower walls. I implore you! Die where you stand!"

And with that said, Pixis stood before his troops, waiting for the answer.

* * *

 **Well that took quite a bit. But heeeey. I ain't dead! Anyways, how long was I gone? Probably a week. Damn.**

 **Anyways, I did make some very slight updates, and writing this 13 page chapter. Though this chapter, like the other Trost Arc chapters, probably ain't too great. Gonna have to mess around with it soon**

 **Aaaaaanyhoo, I guess I'll see you in the next chapter.**

 **P.S: props to Inciacci for making me laugh my ass off in his review.**

 **Edited on 18/6/17, and my god, this went from about 16 pages to 20 in my documents.**


	11. Retaking Trost

**WELCOME to C9, or 10 if you count ze prologue. So this chapter basically concludes the Trost Arc which makes me happy since this arc wasn't really the easiest to write.**

 **That probably is my fault since I chose a weird topic like IBO X SNK. And also it may have been easier if I went all cliche and got Eren, Armin and Mikasa as the main cast.**

 **BUT SIDE CHARACTERS DESERVE SOME LOVE DAMMIT. So I chose Nac, Mina and Annie because I like em. Oh, and Mylius will make some appearances.**

 **Is Annie considered a side character though? I mean, in future episodes of Snk/AoT she is… let's just say less 'side character'-ish.**

 **Anyways! Enough of my rambling. Onto the final Trost Arc.**

* * *

Dashing on the walls, of Trost, Eren, along with Mikasa and the three Garrison Elites, Riko, Mitabi and Ian, the three Garrison assigned to protect him sprinted towards their destination.

Ian and Mitabi were rather tall men, with Ian being 188cm and Mitabi at 191cm. In simpler terms (maybe), Ian was probably my height, with Ian a little above. Ian was a muscular dude, with dark blonde hair and a notably slim face with defined cheekbones. Mitabi, on the other hand, had very short crops of brown hair with a bitchin fine short beard.

Ian, Mitabi and Riko were personally assigned to keep Jaeger alive for this mission. Mikasa was only following because Ian said that her skills would come in handy, and also Ian, being the cool dude he was, probably knew that Ackerman liked Jaeger too much, so being the nice guy he was, he allowed her to follow.

Yet, while the four focused on the sprinting, Eren couldn't help but glance below.

And he had a rather good reason for it however. As below the Wall was the Gundam Barbatos, slamming Titans away from their target. Near it were several groups of Garrison, assisting in drawing the Titans away.

"He called you a top-secret human weapon, but sealing that hole is all I care about," said Mitabi as they sprinted atop the Walls of Trost, ignoring their fading stamina or weakening legs. "I'll protect you with my life. It's up to you, kid."

"Yes sir!" replied Eren, a little proud to get the recognition he always wanted. Though it was ruined when Mikasa ran up beside him.

"Eren, are you feeling better?" asked Mikasa because she's a good sister.

"Yeah," replied Eren, though his tone suggested otherwise, making Mikasa worried.

"Eren…" repeated Mikasa.

"I'm telling you," shot Eren, a little fuming that she asked again. "I'm fine! A lot better than when we were cornered earlier…"

And as he said that, a Titan was flung over their heads and went flying over Trost and back into Maria. As it did, Riko came running up between Jaeger and Ackerman.

"Quit playing house, Jaeger," ordered Riko.

"I didn't mean to…" began Eren.

"To think that we've entrusted the fate of mankind to a spoiled kid like you and a pile of nuts and bolts…" groaned Mitabi, making Mikasa give him a look which said that she'd dropkick him off Trost if he didn't shut it.

Thankfully, Ian shut them up.

"That's enough, all of you!" he ordered. "We're approaching the route to the boulder!"

With that said, the commando of the team looked down.

"From the looks of it, there are no Titans," he observed. "It seems as though our comrades and the Barbatos have successfully lured or killed them off."

* * *

 **Trost**

Zipping left and right, the Barbatos went on it's way destroying the Titans who dared approach it. And seeing as they viewed the Mobile Suit as a source of food, thanks to Mikazuki, they kept coming at it.

After he turned the ninth Titan he encountered into paste, Augus slouched on his seat, feeling exhausted. As he massaged his sore hands, Augus turned the Barbatos' head unit up to the Wall of Trost, spotting Ian's team up top.

According to Pixis, the main plan was to lure most of the Titans to the side of Trost to minimize casualties during this fool plan. The way Pixis chose to lure them was, however, rather smart. The Garrison, accompanied by the Trainees, hung from the side of Wall Rose, acting as Titan bait for the hordes.

Among those there were Armin, Jean, Marco, and his three mates. On the average day, Augus would have stuck with them, but he had a job to do at the moment, and that was to keep the Titans away from the boulder.

Though that didn't stop him from occasionally turning to check on them. Mika's a protective dude after all.

Of course, not _every_ Titan in Trost will be there. Occasionally, a Titan would… let's just say accidentally wander away from the crowd. And of course, there were those which were to far away to lure. So that was where Mika, alongside three other groups of Garrison and Trainees, came in.

It was their job to kill any Titan who strayed from the group or were on their way towards the boulder. The Garrison/Trainee groups did a decent job of downing any Titan who came their way thanks to their strength in numbers and coordinated assaults, though the Barbatos' shear strength kept most of them away.

After he gripped the arm controllers again, Mika noticed an incoming 12 metre class coming at the Barbatos from the back. Not even turning his MS, Augus simply got the Barbatos to launch its foot back and kick it. Once it was gone, Mika smiled ever so slightly and held the Wrench Mace tighter in the Barbatos' grasp.

* * *

 **Up top**

While the Barbatos continued its rampage down below, Ian's team continued their sprint, ignoring their burning calves and tired lungs. As they got closer, however, Riko fell in beside Eren.

"Let me say one thing, Jaeger," she said, making Eren turn to her. "In this operation, more than a few men will perish, even if we have the Gundam on our side. All for you to complete your task.

"They are all our elders, colleagues, juniors, and even friends. Of course, every soldier is prepared for death, but these people aren't just lifeless pieces on a chessboard. They all have names, families, and feelings in their hearts too…

"Alyusha, Dominique, Phine, Isabelle, Ludwig, Martina, Guido, Hannes, they are all humans. They live and bleed. Some of them have shared bread with me since our Trainee days. They might have to die today, all for this suicide mission. You have the responsibility to ensure that their deaths will not be in vain. No matter what may come, remember this in your small, naive heart, and be ready to die in order to fulfill your duty."

And when she said that, the intensity of his task fell back on his shoulders again, reminding him that this was not a game, and that hundreds of lives were counting on him.

"Y-Yes ma'am!" exclaimed Eren, and while those words were easy to say, he knew carrying his duty out would be tough.

"Alright, we're here!" announced Ian. "Jump!"

At his command, Ian's team, minus Riko who stayed back to shoot a flare into the air to signal a 'mission start'.

* * *

 **Near the boulder, somewhere closer to Rose**

Accompanied by the large kick of dust, the Barbatos slammed the Wrench Mace down onto a 3 metre class who was foolish enough to break away from the pack.

Through the smoke, the Wrench swung to the side and whacked a 13 metre class into a building, making it crumble into splinters. Before it could stand, the pilot pulled the Longsword off it's backpack and jammed it into the nape.

When the two mindless flesh thingies were down, the Barbatos expelled all the built up steam from the vents on it's body and flashed it's optics for a second. And within the cockpit of the Barbatos, Mikazuki noticed the flare up top. It was green, signalling a mission start.

And soon after, a large lightning strike came down near the boulder. The strike was so bright that Mika had to raise the Barbatos' arm unit up to shield the optics, in turn his own eyes, to stop himself from going blind.

Maybe he should have accepted Kudelia's offer on getting him some sunglasses back on the Dort Colonies. Maybe…

Anyways, moving away from my slight self cannon and back to the actual story, Mika lowered the the arm unit and saw a house getting slammed into.

' _Maybe he tripped…'_ thought Mika as he turned and noticed that a few Titans were approaching. Raising his brows, Mika thought that the soldiers pulled back, possible because they lose some of their numbers, but he then saw the that the soldiers were still there, hanging like bait. ' _Perhaps it's something to do with Jaeger…"_

But still, the boy largely ignored it and went on his way to defend the area. As he went on, he heard Jaeger stomp out of the dust let out a roar. Probably because he stubbed his toe on his way own. Either that or it's normal. Each to his own I suppose.

Yet, though Eren seemed to act… strange. He didn't move, just staring at the boulder. That made Mika quirk his left brow up in confusion.

Landing behind her brother, Mikasa watched as her brother, as a Titan anyways, roared to the heavens.

' _By human standards, that boulder would be impossible to lift,'_ thought Ackerman as Ian and Mitabi landed close by, one house behind her. ' _But I'm sure Eren has the strength to do it.'_

Yet, when she looked at her brother expectantly, she noticed that Eren didn't move, he just stood there silently, staring at the boulder. And slowly, the Titan boy turned towards her.

' _... Eren?'_ thought Mikasa, before Eren shot an arm at her. With wide eyes, Mikasa lunged to the side and avoided a strike which would have undoubtedly killed her (which is questionably as she has plot armour).

Before his fist collided, Mikasa leapt away from the fist and onto a further side of the building. When she landed, Mikasa gained a small cut on her cheek thanks to a small, sharp piece of debris. Though that small cut was nothing when compared to the sharp pain she had on her back when the girl slammed against the balcony of the house.

(on a side note, did you guys seen Riko's face when that happened? Really, go watch the anime episode and go to somewhere near the timestamp 3:38 and tell me that Riko's face isn't gold.)

When the boy shot his arm at his loving sister, Mika immediately blasted the Barbatos towards him. Augus was never one to speculate, but he could guess that this new 'Titan' power of his was a little overwhelming to him.

On a side note, just imagine Mikasa as a Titan. That'd be pretty bloody awesome.

Back on topic, when Mika saw Eren getting out of control and nearly killing Ackerman, he immediately blasted the Barbatos towards the boy Titan, who was preparing another punch. As for Mikasa, she was still recovering from her impact against the balcony… thing.

Though the two had no real friendly relationship, Mika, as I've probably stated quite a lot of times, had a mutual respect for each other. And that mutual respect towards her made him take action.

"Ackerman!" exclaimed Ian as Eren began to pull his _Titan_ ic (hehehe) fist back, and as Riko and Mitabi stood there, still in shock. "Fall back!"

Unfortunately, Mikasa seemed to be a little dazed from the impact, seeing as she didn't notice the fist until the last minute. And by then it was too late.

Refusing to see Ackerman get crushed, Mitabi diverted his attention behind him, and that was when he widened his eyes.

"Ian!" shouted Mitabi, prompting Ian and Riko to whirl around and see the Barbatos dashing at them. It zipped right past them and tackled Eren with it's shoulder, sending the Titan boi flying to the side and crashing into another building, causing a large amount of dust and soot to fly everywhere. Just an average day in this story, trust me.

Can we just take a moment to feel bad for the builders within the Walls? It must be hard rebuilding these things. And the amount of money needed? Sheesh.

Back on topic, when Eren slammed the house in, Mikasa gave the Barbatos a harsh glare, which it promptly ignored. Besides, Eren, who recovered rather quickly, probably thanks to that 'Titan power' or whatever, was already up and coming at him with both arms ready to strike.

Dropping the weapon it held, the Barbatos caught the boy's arms, not letting go. In fact, Eren's arms seemed to be getting crushed under the Barbatos' intense grip. I mean, Eren didn't seemed to notice, as he just kept trying to pry himself out of the Gundam's grip.

Ignoring both the Barbatos or the possibility of getting bitten by Eren, probably by accident, Mikasa launched a wire up to the Barbatos' arm 'shield' and swung herself up onto Eren's head grabbing his hair to keep her latched onto her bro.

"Hold him still!" ordered Mikasa, not caring what it did to her. All that mattered to her was getting her brother to snap out of it.

"Ackerman!" exclaimed Ian, standing near the wrestling Titans, with Mikasa in the middle of it. "Cut it out and fall back!"

Unfortunately for Ian, Mikasa wasn't that concerned about her own well being, seeing as she kept on Eren's head as the boy pushed the Barbatos back, though it was more to do with the ground below the Gundam breaking apart rather than the lack of strength, though it managed to keep its footing on solid ground.

"Eren, don't you recognise me?" exclaimed Mikasa, sounding desperate. "It's me, Mikasa! Your family!"

That seemed to make Eren that much angrier, for an unknown reason, causing the boy Titan to push the Barbatos back more, prompting it to put more power into its push, causing Eren to drop down to one knee.

"You must block the hole with that boulder!" exclaimed Mikasa, ignoring the fact that the Barbatos did that act.

* * *

While Ackerman tried in vain to help Eren, Riko simply picked up a red flare. "The operation has failed," she said, loading it in. "It was obvious from the start that no secret weapon ever existed."

When she said that, the woman shot the flare up into the air.

* * *

Back with the Barbatos, Eren and Mikasa, the girl was still trying to get Eren to think properly. But it was clear that this was going nowhere, something the Barbatos seemed to know.

"Eren!" exclaimed Mikasa in another vain attempt to snap Jaeger out of it. "You're human! You're-"

Yet before she could finish, the Barbatos began to shake Jaeger from left to right, causing Mikasa to fly off her brother's face and land hard on a nearby building.

Once she was off, the Gundam gave a quick right jab to Eren's stomach and a left to the jaw, leaving Eren dazed. Taking advantage of it, Barbatos grabbed his head and slammed it into the boulder, completely crushing the cranium, and gaining a pissed off look from Ackerman, but Ian's team seemed almost relieved.

"What's with him…" groaned Mitabi as Ian helped Mikasa up. "I guess he's just a stupid Titan like the rest!"

And Mikasa, being Mikasa, said only one thing.

"Eren!" she yelled as the Barbatos removed it's hand from Eren's flattened skull, the dissolving blood on it's palm. "Eren…"

"Commander Ian!" came the voice of a Garrison behind them, making Mitabi and Ian whirl around. "Two Titans approaching from ahead! A pair of 10 me and 6 metre classes!"

When he was informed, Ian widened his eyes immensely. Though not as much when the Barbatos turned and looked behind them.

"Incoming," it said, raising an arm and pointing to the north of Trost. Turning to the side, the group, minus Mikasa who was still looking at Eren, widened their eyes.

A group of around 9 to the staggering amount of 23 Titans coming their way. Taking a step back, Mitabi whirled to face Ian.

"Ian, we have to fall back!" exclaimed Mitabi, sounding horrified as the Barbatos retrieved it's weapon. "That _boy_ ain't going to block no gates (that's what he said in my version of the Shingeki No Kyojin sub, no joke)!"

On a side note, and I'm giving a lot of them in this but I like talking to you guys, what's with these different subtitles on different websites anyways? On one site, they call Shiganshina, the other being Zhiganshina. And some of them having entire sentences being replaced. It's odd… but whatever. Back to the story.

"Yeah, we have no choice but to leave him here," agreed Riko, looking and sounding slightly worried. Ian was halfheartedly about to agree, but a harsh, and I mean _**harsh**_ , glare from Mikasa made him reconsider.

* * *

 **Atop Rose, a short while ago**

"Hey, what's that…?" asked Mylius, looking into the air.

"Did they… fail?" added Marco.

"Why…" muttered Armin, gritting his teeth. And before you knew it, Arlert sprinted off and grabbed a pair of gas tanks.

"Hey, Armin?!" exclaimed Nac as the blonde sprinted off.

* * *

 **Back down low at the boulder**

"What are you waiting for Ian?!" exclaimed Mitabi, his voice sounding horrified and desperate. "You're the one in command! Please… it isn't your fault! This plan was dubious at best! All of us knew that! It was worth a try, and we did, with no success!"

"But we still have the Barbatos!" retorted Ian, swinging his blade to point at the Gundam. "He can still seal the hole!"

"But we risk a lot by getting the… thing to seal it!" replied Mitabi. "The Armoured Titan could easily bypass us and break into Rose! And even if it doesn't, we will be risking the lives of many by losing our biggest defence!"

"But-" replied Ian, but he found himself lost for word. Turning to the Barbatos and Jaeger, he gritted his teeth. Was this a logical thing to do? Abandon one of the two best chances for humanity to win?

"Come on!" commanded Mitabi, turning around. "We're running out of time! We're scaling the wall!"

With that said, the man turned and headed for the Walls of Trost, with Riko following suit. Mikasa, however, didn't like their choice to leave behind her pathetic crush. So, with her blades in her hands, she charged at Mitabi, wanting to teach him a lesson.

Thankfully, Ian held her back. "Wait," he said, making Mikasa shoot him a furious glare. "Calm yourself Ackerman."

When he said that, Mitabi and Riko turned to face him, hoping that he was calling off the mission. But they didn't expect him to turn to the Gundam.

"Barbatos, defend our position," he ordered, not bothering if it would kill him. And it didn't, simply nodding and gripping it's weapon. Mitabi and I will handle the 10 and 6 metre. Riko, assist the Barbatos."

"What?!" proclaimed Riko.

"I'm the Commander of this squad, Riko!" exclaimed Ian, not willing to let Eren fall. "Just shut up and listen! We can't leave Jaeger undefended! We're changing our objective. Until Jaeger is retrieved, we'll protect him from the Titans. While not as advanced as the Gundam, the boy represents a precious possibility for mankind. We cannot just abandon him like that.

"And unlike us, they cannot be replaced."

"But hundreds have died for that hulking failure of a human weapon!" retored Riko. "And now you want to recover him… just for us to go through all that again?!"

"That's right!" replied Ian, making Riko and Mitabi flinch. "No matter how many die, we must try again and again!"

"Ian, you know I respect you immensely…" muttered Riko, her calm demeanor fading. "But are you out of your mind?!"

"Perhaps, but tell me, Riko! Tell me how else can mankind win against the Titans?!" demanded Ian.

"We can still bring the Barbatos!" replied Riko, pointing her blade at it. Turning to face it, Ian stared into those green 'eyes', then back to Riko.

"That thing is nothing more than a pile of scrap held together, Riko!" proclaimed Ian. "Things which will eventually rust and fall apart! Eren is human! Something which will never do neither!"

"But what if we took it apart?" pushed Riko, trying to get Ian to pull back.

"There's no point!" replied Ian. "Our technology is not enough to pull it apart!"

"Yet, even so… why risk the lives of thousands for that brat?!" demanded Riko. "

"Tell me, Riko! What other way is there to get through this?!" yelled Ian. "How can we possibly win against the Titans without more people dying, while staying humans ourselves?! What should we do?!"

"Of course I don't know a way to defeat the Titans…" replied Riko, her oddly calm demeanor coming back to her.

"That's why this is all we have left," muttered Ian, turning to both the Barbatos and Eren. "For both of these monstrosities sake… we must risk our lives and give it our all…"

When he finished, Ian closed his eyes and sighed as the Titans came closer. "Isn't it pitiful? But that's all we can do as humans. So, what will you do? This is the only way we can fight…

"This is as much struggle as we can manage!" finished Ian. When he was done, the small group was silent, with the only noise being the Titans coming closer. Glancing up, Mikasa looked at Ian thankfully, and the man looked back hopefully.

Mitabi and Riko, on the other hand, were still unsure, with Mitabi looking horrified and Riko nervous.

"I can't accept that…" said Riko.

"Riko!" groaned Ian, trying to get her to assist, but she continued.

"I will follow your plan," she continued, holding her blades tightly. "I think what you're saying is right. The Barbatos will eventually rust and break down. Eren will not."

Nodding, Ian was about to thank her, but she whirled around to face him with an intense glare.

"But know this. While I struggle, I'll show them just how dreadful us humans can be. I refuse to die a dog's death."

With that said, she unsheathed the blades. "I'll be waiting for the Barbatos."

As she walked towards the inbound Titans, Mitabi went towards the approaching 10 and 6 metres.

"Let's go… the two ahead are ours," he said, sprinting off.

"Yeah…" replied Ian, turning to the Barbatos. And with a nod, it blasted off to assist Riko.

"Thank you, squad leader Ian," thanked Mikasa.

"Ackerman, you really shouldn't thank me," replied Ian. "I almost shat myself because I had no clue what you were about to do. Now, move ahead and execute the plan. Your abilities shine their brightest whilst doing so, after all."

"Yes sir," said Mikasa.

"Go defend your boyfriend," ordered Ian, sounding oddly cheeky, though Mikasa looked down with some blush on her face.

"He's… my family…" she replied, though saw that Ian was gone once she did, though she didn't mind much as she'd rather not let anyone know about this slight relationship with her brother.

Though you guys just ship Eren with Levi. How… how fockin dare you? Seriously man. If anyone deserves Eren, it's Mikasa.

Moving aside from shipping cuz that shit is a horrifying dark part of every fandom, Mikasa turned to face her brother, and widened her eyes when she saw that her brother was not healing.

' _His wounds… they're not healing…'_ she thought as the floor shook from a thundering downswing delivered from the Barbatos. ' _Is it because of the damage he suffered from before…? What effects did that have on Eren? Is there any guarantee that he can return to his normal form again at all? I should stop… it's not something I can figure out by thinking. For now, I must do what I can.'_

Once her thoughts were over, Mikasa heard a stomp behind her. Whirling around, she spotted a Titan crawling up to her. Gritting her teeth, Ackerman held her blades tightly and began to map out a route for a counterattack, but the Barbatos countered for her, holding its weapon in both arms and slamming the front half into it's nape.

The thing had it's front half (which was a little busted up) rotated up, and that was the first time Mikasa noticed the spiked 'sword' housed inside it. And suddenly, with a loud 'rev up' noise, the spikes began to rotate and tear into the Titan's nape, which made for a messy death.

Once it was killed to death, the weapon released the Titan and dropped the dissolving Titan's carcass. Turning to Mikasa, it gave a slight not before blasting off to take out the others.

Huffing softly, Mikasa sighed before she launched a wire to the side and swung across to assist.

* * *

"You won't have to fight," began a Garrison, speaking to a group of Cadets who were with him. "Just lure the Titans towards Rose and away from the Elites. Once you're under the Wall, climb it. And remember, don't die. And if by miniscule change any Titans stray away, we'll crush them."

Behind him, the Trainees, with Jean, Marco, Annie, Mina, Nac, Mylius and more nodded.

"Miniscule chance?" asked Jean, uncertain. "I'd say more than likely…"

"Are we free to act as we see fit in case of an emergence?" asked Annie.

"If ya can sort it out that way, then go on ahead," was her reply. And that was before several explosions were seen. "Kirstein squad, move out!"

"Yes sir!"

* * *

' _Eren…'_

In all the chaos around him, lil Armin Arlert looked down at the (non-regenerating) Titan body of Eren. Just seeing his pal like this made Armin feel a sick.

"What are you doing… Eren?!"

Over by the side, the Garrison, including Mikasa of course, were toppling over the Titans like they were dominos, mainly thanks to the Barbatos who created the domino effect.

Yet, unbeknownst to them, the Barbatos was not the only one who was helping them assist, as within the chest of the Gundam sat our boy, Mikazuki Augus, pulling around the arm controllers and stepping on the thruster controllers.

* * *

Jerking both controllers to the side, Augus slammed the Wrench Mace into an incoming 12 metre class, sending the weapon and Titan into a building. And through the dust came the Barbatos' manipulator, which caught an approaching 9 metre class' head.

Deciding to not use the Wrench, Mika slammed the Barbatos' arm unit into the Titan's neck, which came out through the other end of it's head. Pulling the arm unit out and letting the Titan, which, might I add, was a whole 8.9 metres shorter than it, fall, Augus turned the Gundam to the side and sighed.

While the boy did, admittedly, find the experience of being able to reconnect to his Mobile Suit (that does not sound right at all), he had to admit that this battle was getting them nowhere. He didn't think that the dud of a human weapon which he used to call Eren, or Suicidal Blockhead, each to their own, was gonna wake up from whatever dream he was currently having.

So that meant that they were, in a way, fighting for a lost cause. And if Eren didn't wake up from his nap soon, they would surely be overwhelmed. And while the Barbatos could survive, the others would definitely not hold up for too long. And even so, the Barbatos would run out of it's gas in time.

Hell, Mika would probably be dehydrated in time, which in turn meant death of the boy.

A small part of Mika urged him to just get the heck out of there, but the other parts of him said that he'd most definitely die when outside the Walls, as he didn't have enough rations to survive for more than one day, and also because of his friends within Rose. Not to mention the fact that his loyal mentality stopped him from leaving them behind.

On occasion, the boy would consider lifting the boulder, but he wasn't willing to let his guard down. If either the Extra Thicc (Armoured) or Extra Tol (Colossal) Titans came by and knocked the Wall down while he was lifting, then it would not be pretty.

"A group of Titans coming in through the gate!" came a yell from a Garrison, snapping Mika out of it. Turning, Augus spotted a pack of four 10 metre classes waddling in. Huffing, the kid aimed the left arm unit and blasted one of the last four Arm Mortar units in a space between the Titans, and the explosion kaboomed them all.

With wide eyes, the Garrison turned and looked at the Barbatos. "Yeah… nevermind…"

Slicing the 13 metre's nape, and causing it to drop down on a building near Eren, Mikasa stood atop its head to catch her breath. As she did, she noticed a certain blonde on Eren's back.

"Mikasa!" exclaimed Armin, looking up at her. "What happened to the plan?!"

"Armin?!"

"What's wrong with Eren?!"

"It's dangerous here!" came his reply. "Fall back, now! Eren can't control his Titan body! It didn't even respond when I spoke to him! There's no use in anyone else trying either!"

"And the plan?" asked Armin. Opening her mouth, Mikasa was about to reply, but a loud crash stopped her from doing so. Turning to the side, the saw the Barbatos crashing a Titan into a building.

"It failed," said the Gundam, the ground shaking a minor bit as it stood up. "But Ian decided that we couldn't leave Eren behind, so everyone's fighting until he gets up. But with this many Titans we're bound to be wiped out, with or without me."

And for whatever reason, that infuriated Armin. Turning around, he looked at Eren's Titan nape.

"From the back of the head to the back of the neck…" muttered Armin, unsheathing a blade. "One metre vertically, ten centimeters horizontally…"

"Armin?!" exclaimed Mikasa, not sure of what her friend intended to do. "What are you-"

"Getting Eren out of here!" came her reply as the Barbatos clamped down and sawed into a Titan. "Mikasa, protect us from the Titans!"

"But how are you going to do that…?" began Mikasa as Armin walked onto the nape. Launching both wires onto the nape, Armin latched himself onto Eren's back.

"Eren came out of the Titan's weak point before," explained Arlert. "This has to be related to the mystery of the Titan's true nature…"

Over by the side, Mikasa looked on, confused as the Barbatos stepped towards them.

"It'll be fine…" muttered Armin, his heart racing. "As long as I avoid the middle… it won't be fatal… it'll just hurt a bit…!"

And with that said, Armin jerked his sword into Eren's nape, making Mikasa panic. And that motion seemed to rile up Eren, as the Titan body which was against the boulder began to spazz out.

In an instant, the Barbatos tossed aside the Titan it just killed and blasted towards Jaeger. When it was close enough, the Gundam split the front half of it's weapon open and clamped it down on Eren, who convulsed like a live fish which was on a hot grill, and in turn flopping Armin around.

And before you ask, no, I didn't try putting a living fish on a hot grill. I'm not _that_ sadistic, ya know?

Back on topic, with the clamps of the Barbatos' weapon around Jaeger, the Titan eventually calmed down and stopped moving, going back to sitting against that boulder motionlessly, allowing Armin to regain his footing.

"Armin?!" exclaimed Mikasa. "What are you doing?!"

"Mikasa!" exclaimed Armin as he regained his balance. "Right now, do what you can! If you go, there are lives you can save! Leave Eren to me and go!

When he finished, Mikasa gritted her teeth even further. She seemed extremely reluctant, but there wasn't much else she could do. So with a grunt, the girl sprinted off to assist. Once she was gone, the Barbatos released Eren and held it's weapon vertically.

"Oi, Armin," it said, scaring Arlert a tiny bit. "Can you get him to snap out of it?"

When he was addressed, Armin, admittedly, felt hundreds of chills go up his spine. But still, he gave a strong face and nodded.

"I'll defend you," came his reply as the Gundam straightened itself up, the weapon it used to subdue Eren held in its hands. "Be quick."

"Understood…" muttered Armin before turning back to Jaeger as it knocked a 13 metre class out of the way. "E-Eren?! Can you hear me?! Get a grip, man! If you don't get out of there, we're all dead! Don't let a mere Titan body control you! Hurry up and get out of that lump of flesh!"

* * *

As Armin pleaded for Eren to come out of the damn Titan body, Mikazuki did his best to keep every last Titan at _least_ five metres away. He did his job pretty decently, though the occasional Titan did slip through the Barbatos' Wrench Mace or run past (or in between it's legs) it all together, though they were easily dealt with.

While he fought, Mika kept the LCS comm-links activated to detect any 'Armin Screams', as he called them. If there were, he'd know that a Titan was close to the boy. But he didn't expect to hear Armin speak about Eren's history while trying to wake him up.

"Eren… come out… now!" exclaimed Armin as Mika got the Barbatos to deliver a thundering downswing. "What happened to avenging your mother?! Weren't you going to annihilate all the Titans?! I thought you hated those bastards for killing your mother!"

When he heard those words, Augus quirked up an eyebrow. You see, back in the Trainee days, Mika had almost _no_ interactions with Eren, not including the times the two bump into each other during Maneuver Gear training or the occasional eye contact the two had. So hearing this new bit of info was intriguing, to say the least.

Though it didn't mean that he was gonna sympathise with him, though. From what Armin just said, he could confirm that he lost only his mother to the Titans. And while a mother was a rather important person in one's life, losing one family member was nothing when compared to all the lives lost when Tekkadan escorted Kudelia to earth. And to Mika, Tekkadan was family.

So you can put into perspective how much worse Mika's lose is when compared to Eren.

But still, Mika did _sorta_ understand how he felt. Back in the day where he was still in Tekkadan, and when the Barbatos still had shoulder armour, a certain bitch who went by the name of _Carta Issue_ killed a founding member of Tekkadan known as Biscuit. And when the two duked it out in the snowy plains near Edmonton, Mika felt an odd emotion in his chest as he beat the crap out of Issue.

At first, the boy dismissed it as a normal part of battle, but several days after he absolutely _annihilated_ Carta, he asked Shino, during one of their breaks in between the time where they were defending the Tekkadan base outside Edmonton, about it. And Norba told him that he felt the urge to avenge Biscuit.

That fact did surprise Mika a tiny bit, though Shino seemed to be more so, probably because Mika almost **never** showed a single shred of emotion.

But we're going off topic.

Readjusting the Barbatos footing, Augus slammed the arm controller down onto a 6 metre.

"Eren! Wake up, please!" pleaded Armin as Mika clamped a 13 metre class which was coming for Armin. Once the clamps were secure, he pushed down on a button on the inside of the arm controllers, causing the hidden (or not so hidden, seeing as the front half was busted up. You can probably see the chainsaw) chainsaw to rev up and tear into the Titan.

"Eren! I know you're in there! If you stay, we'll all be killed by the Titans!" continued Armin, ignoring the gory mess which was dissolving from the Barbatos' armour plating. "Everything will end right here!"

And Mika, while he didn't want to think that, had a small, growing feeling that they might end up falling here.

* * *

 **By the sidelines**

Dashing on ground level, part of Team Kirstein sprinted towards frantically in an effort to lure the Titans away. And as they did, that one commando who told Jean what to do got nommed on. Poor dude.

Back on ground level, Jean, Nac, Annie and Marco sprinted towards the east in an effort to lure a 13 metre class to the side, or just run from it.

"I guess we'd better move on our own now!" exclaimed Annie, and Jean nodded. Glancing to Marco, Jean motioned for him to break off.

And right before the 13 metre class lunged at them, Annie and Marco veered to the left, with Nac and Jean to the right. As they did, however, Nac noticed Jean's slightly more panicked expression. "Are you alright Jean?" he asked.

"Huh? Oh, y-yeah, I am," replied Jean.

Part of Nac knew that he was lying, though he decided to push the thought away to focus on survival. So, instead of pushing the question, Nac simply nodded and picked up the pace to try and outpace the Titan behind them.

Over by the sider side, Mina, alongside Connie, Sasha and Mylius rushed along the rooftops of Trost. Mina and Connie paired up to distract a 12 metre class who was tumbling around, while Sasha and Mylius zipped around to eliminate it.

After they downed the thing, part of Team Kirstein, which I'll call Subteam Mina for simplicity, stopped for a very slight breather.

"Quite the party, eh?" asked Connie sarcastically with a false smile to try and lighten the mood, to not much avail.

"Guess so…" replied Mylius, wiping his sweaty brow. "But at least we're still up, which is the least we can say for Eren…"

Nodding, Subgroup Mina turned to where Jaeger was at, which was surrounded by dust and soot thanks to the Barbatos. In the middle of all of that, Armin was trying to get Eren back up, to no avail. The two would have been consumed if it weren't for the Elites and the entity which considered itself Barbatos.

Speaking of the certain Ares Gaetio Demon, the (sub)group heard a rather loud slam from the dust and soot. Whirling to face it, the gang widened their eyes as a massive object came flying out of the cloud, spinning as it flew.

And, accompanied by a rather slight shake in the ground, the thing lodged itself into the ground near them, kicking up more dust, making the team shield their eyes.

Once the dust settled, the gang widened their eyes when they saw that it was the weapon which was stored on the Barbatos' backpack, some sort of sword. It was lodged vertically in the ground, tilted a tiny bit to the side (which side I'll let you decide), with some dissolving Titan blood on it.

Following that earth shaking slam came another one, but twice as hard, and almost knocked the Trainees, and almost anyone else nearby, off their feet. Hell, it knocked the Titans down onto their asses, indirectly saving several Garrison and Trainees who were in their grasp.

The slam originated from the dust, which cleared and showed the Barbatos lifting the weapon it held with both hands high into the air. And the group watched as it whacked a 15 metre class which came at it, completely decimating the torso and waist.

"It was a huge stroke of luck that we have this thing on our side," pointed out Mylius.

"Yeah… I think most of us would be dead of it wasn't here," added Sasha, regaining her posture.

"Well, we can't let it do our job, ya know?" asked Connie, holding his blades tightly. "Let's get back to work!"

"Yeah," agreed Mina, flashing a faint smile as she pointed her blade towards a 13 metre class. "Let's."

* * *

"Eren, Eren!" continued Armin fruitlessly as the Corps and Barbatos attempted to keep them safe. "Weren't we going to explore the outside world?"

"Far… far beyond these walls…" continued Armin. "To the burning water (lava) and the land of ice (arctic). To the snowfields of sand (desert)... to a world my parents always hoped to see…

"I thought you'd forgotten about it, but you'd just stop talking about it… was it because you didn't want me to join the Survey Corps?"

Zipping rapidly, Mikasa slashed a 14 metre class' nape, saving a Garrison.

"Despite knowing Hell was raging outside the Walls…"

Dashing right at a pack of Titans, the Barbatos gave the group a powerful sideswing, sending them flying.

"Even though we might die horrible like my parents… why did you ever want to see the outside world?"

And as if answering to his prayers, Eren's Titan body eyes snapped open, revealing those bright yellow pupils of his as his face regenerated.

With a smile on his feminine face, Armin blasted off Eren and swung onto a nearby building as the Titan boy stood up and let out a rawr. While he smiled at Jaeger, the Barbatos stomped towards him.

"Nice work," it said flatly, making Armin turn to it.

"Thanks," he… well… thanked. "Now, let's finish this."

"Ah," was his reply as the Barbatos turned to Jaeger, who began to lift that large bowling ball to hit a strike in the hole.

* * *

Stomping…

That was all they heard.

And it greatly confused Team Ian, alongside Mitabi and Riko's, at least until they noticed the boulder being lifted. With wide eyes, they watched in amazement as Titan-Eren lifted it, slowly slugging his way towards the hole, with the Barbatos in front of it, pushing the entering Titans back out.

"Eren!" exclaimed Mikasa, smiling happily. Though she did stop when a certain guy called her name and landed beside her. "Armin!"

"Eren won!" announced Armin. "He's trying to do his job now! If he makes it to the gate, then we will retake Trost!"

When he said that, Ian got a rather dark look. And that was before he quite literally before he _**roared**_ out his next orders.

"LISTEN WELL!" he exclaimed at the top of his lungs. "WE MUST DEFEND EREN UNTIL HE REACHES THE GATE, EVEN IF IT COSTS US OUR LIVES!

"DO **NOT** LET ANY TITANS GET NEAR HIM!"

When he said that, every soldier and Trainee in the vicinity nodded and sprinted off to slay their enemies. Turning around, Ian glanced towards Mikasa and Armin.

"You two, go to Eren! We'll fight alongside the Barbatos!" instructed Ian. "That's an order, got it?! Now go!"

"Hai!" was his reply, before Ian sprinted towards the battlefield, though he was stopped when he saw Mitabi's squad rushing on ground level towards a pack of four Titans. "What are they-?!"

"The Titans aren't paying us no attention!" proclaimed Mitabi as the ground shook thanks to the Barbatos. "So we're gonna ave' to get close enough that they can't ignore us!"

"Oi!" exclaimed one of Mitabi's teammates, though his fear was apparent. "Over here, you meatbags!"

"Turn around you wankers!" added Mitabi, looking horrified but still standing his ground. "Or I'll shove my blade right up yer stinkin' arse and bleed ya to death!"

Right when he said that, two of the four Titans turned to face them.

"Great!" exclaimed another member of Team Mitabi. "Now they're after us!"

"Fall back!" ordered Mitabi. "To the buildings!"

"What are they doing?!" demanded Armin. "Without horses or buildings, we can't fight!"

"Yes, we can't," came a voice behind him, making Armin turn around and face Ian, who walked right past him. "But… it's the only way we got…"

And with that said, Ian boldly leapt off the building and onto ground level.

"Everyone, follow their lead!" ordered Ian as he dashed to lure a 13 metre class away.

"Armin, we're going," said Mikasa, leaping off.

* * *

 **Atop Trost**

"What are your orders, Jean?" asked Marco, snapping Kirstein out of it. Turning to face Tias, Jean groaned and scratched the back of his head.

Looking down, Jean pondered on what he was supposed to do. Fight and risk life or limb, or hang back and keep those under his command alive? Marco seemed to see his hesitation and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Jean!" said Nac, catching Connie, Nac, Annie, Sasha and Mina's attentions. "Stop thinking about us already! Remember, we're all expendable! What really matters is sealing that hole! Got it?!"

"I… I do!" replied Jean, making Marco release him. And when he did, the boy took in a deep breath and looked down. "Kirstein Squad…"

Looking at their team leader, they waited expectantly.

"Let's move!"

* * *

 **With Eren and the Barbatos**

With the green light trailing it's optic, the Barbatos blasted right at a 15 metre class and slammed the Wrench Mace into it. Inside it's cockpit, the pilot sensed another coming and whacked it to the side.

Over by the sidelines, the pilot, which we all know as Mika anyways, noticed something rather commendable. Almost all the Garrison who were assisting them were on ground level, using themselves as human shields to protect Eren.

In a way, it reminded him of Humans Debris, but these people were willingly giving their lives away unlike the Debris.

"Hey!" came a particular female voice, making Mika tense up a tad bit, a rare thing for him. Turning the Barbatos' head, he spotted Mina and Nac with the crowd who were luring the Titans away. "Over here you oversized bobblehead!"

"Mina, Nac?" muttered Augus, feeling a tad bit worried, something he shook off when he heard a Titan coming for the Barbatos, and it was promptly kicked to the side. For a short second, the boy considered breaking away from Jaeger to assist his pals, but he reconsidered when he remembered that if Eren fell, the mission would be deemed a failure.

After he decided on keeping close to Jaeger for the sake of sealing the hole, Mika jerked the arm controllers to the side and bashed another Titan to the side, pulverising the thing.

Once the deed was done, Mika did notice Eren slowing down. Gritting his teeth, Augus whirled the Barbatos around to face him.

"Hurry up, Jaeger," he said coldly. "Don't forget, if you fail, then we're all dead. Even your friends."

And those words seemed to set off something in Eren, as he began to use more strength. With a satisfied huff, Mika turned back to face the crowd.

"Eren!" came Armin behind him as Eren got close to their objective. "Go!"

And with a loud roar, Jaeger slammed the boulder into the Wall, the shear power of the slam causing a large crack in the wall.

* * *

After the large hole was sealed, the Garrison and Trainees stood in stunned silence as the dust around the boulder settled. Jean still believed that his eyes were deceiving him as the rest of his temporary team gathered around him.

"He did it…" muttered Mylius. "I can't believe it…"

"None of us can," replied Connie as he steadied his breathing. Beside him, Sasha was on the brink of fainting from happiness, though Mina calmed her down.

Up front, Riko looked in silent shock as the dust faded, showing a sealed hole, with both Eren and the Barbatos behind it. "Everyone… didn't die in vain…"

Raising her arm, she aimed a Flare Gun into the air and blasted a Yellow Flare into the air, signalling a Mission Success. "Today… for the first time in our history… mankind has triumphed over the Titans…"

As she said that, the Barbatos diverted its gaze behind her. And after it flashed it's 'eyes', it turned to her. "The remaining Titans are coming. Retreat, now. I'll hold them back."

"Affirmative," was its reply as Riko turned to face the Garrison. "Everyone, fall back, now!"

"I'll do so once Eren is safe!" clarified Mikasa as she dashed towards Eren's Titan body, though Armin beat her to the punch. "Armin, how's Eren?!"

"He's feverish from the intense heat in here!" was her reply as the Barbatos shoulder tackled a 13 metre class, saving a Trainee. "We need to get him over the Wall as soon as possible!"

When she heard that, Ackerman sprinted towards and onto the nape as Armin tried to pull him out.

"Part of his body is fused with the Titan!" exclaimed Armin. "I can't get him out!"

"Then we'll have to cut him out," said Riko as she walked up beside the Trainee, making Ackerman panic a little.

'Hold on!" exclaimed Mikasa as the earth shook from a heavy impact thanks to the Barbatos, who was holding back nearly a quarter of the Titans in Trost. Though it didn't seem too hard, as every Titan which was even ten metres away was promptly killed to death.

With a clean cut, Riko sliced Eren out of the nape, causing the boy to fall onto Armin, still unconscious. And because anime, two Titans managed to weave their way around the Barbatos and towards the Titan Shifter.

"Eren! Armin!" exclaimed Mikasa as one of the two reached for them. Widening his eyes, Armin, knowing that the Barbato was rather distracted at the moment, thought it was his end. As for Eren, that bloke was waking up slowly, not noting the Titans coming for them.

And of course, they didn't die thanks to plot convenience. From up top, a short clean freak came zipping down and downed both Titans with great elegance. Once the deed was done, the Trainees and Garrison saw the person who dispatched the twin Titans land on one of his victims.

He looked stern, tired, angry and… short. He was none other than the Legendary Shorty of the Walls, the man who donned the Wings of Freedom proudly.

"Levi Ackerman?" muttered Mina as the Barbatos took down a 12 metre class. "Why is he here? Weren't they outside Rose?"

"Well, they would have known about the breach," replied Annie flatly. "It wasn't subtle, after all."

And unbeknownst to all, she gave Bertolt the stink eye, a motion which he flinched at.

"Hey, you kids," said Levi, turning to the original main trio and completely ignoring the Barbatos as other SCs came swinging in, the ones who got the most attention being a bespectacled lady, a ginger haired woman, a dude with a bitchin' fine mustache who seemed to be sniffing the air and finally, the man himself, Mr Large Eyebrows.

"What's the situation here?"

* * *

 **Why do I torment myself?**

 **Oh, right. Because I like writing :v**

 **Anyways, if you didn't know, this was a** _ **complete**_ **rewrite of the latter half of the** _ **Struggle For Trost**_ **. Trust me it was NOT fun to write. This one chapter took 3 weeks or so. Really. I started writing this somewhere on the 15-20th of June (Singapore time) and ended on the 2nd of July at 10;38pm.**

 **I think it's justified to hate writing a chapter hen you take that long to get something done.**

 **But anyways, enough of my whining. Onto actual stuff. And yes, this chapter marks the end of the Trost Arc. And good riddance too. It was a nightmare, for you to read and for me to write.**

 **Anyways, there's not much else to say but 'see ya in the next chapter'.**


	12. Trials and plot progression

**Ah yes, the editing cycle continues. I don't have much to say after that, so enjoy.**

 **Three (and a half) days after the Struggle For Trost.**

* * *

Sitting in the cafeteria of the Survey Corp HQ located in Rose, Levi, alongside several other Survey Corps, staying silent as they recuperate from the last three days of Hell.

You see, in the past three (and a half) days the Survey Corps, Garrison and Trainees worked on eliminating the Titan threat within Trost.

Among the soldiers who fought in this battle was the short powerhouse himself, Levi Ackerman, who was holding a cup of tea.

I should probably stop calling him short. It might tick him off.

Anyways, the man was sitting by the side, isolated from the other Corps as he thought about some matters. Though he wasn't _completely_ alone, as a certain lady was with him.

She had blondish hair alongside brown eyes. And she was short. Like… _really_ short. Shorter than Levi even. Now _that's_ scary. The woman was known as Petra Ral, a member of the senior Survey Corps and one of Levi's closest allies. Minus Hanji.

Hanji is pretty much Levi's advisor, if you will.

After a short while, Petra seemed to notice that Levi was a little… out of character. The look in his eyes was a little less… Levi-ish, if you will.

"Levi?" began Petra, making the short man turn to her.

"Yes, Petra?" came her reply as the man took a sip from the tea in front of him.

"You seem…" started Petra, trying to find the correct word to use. "Tense?"

"... I guess so," grumbled Levi, placing his cup down. "It's just that… _thing_."

"I thought you encountered the… _Barbatos_ a few years back," pointed out Petra, using the 'Mechanical Titan's' actual name. At least, that was what the Garrison/Trainees/Survey Corps (who stayed behind) said. "It saved your squad back then, didn't it?"

"It did," clarified Levi. "But I'm not gonna trust it."

"Why?" asked Petra.

"It probably has something to do with how it surrendered so quickly…" replied Levi. "And it even assisted in 'Project; Clean Up'."

* * *

 **Days ago**

 _The day was won._

 _All around the boulder which sealed the breach in Trost, the Garrison, Trainees and Survey Corps (which just got back from their expedition) were mildly relieved. But that feeling subsided after a few seconds when they realized that they still had one slight problem._

 _A problem in the form of the Gundam Barbatos, as it called itself._

 _Circling around to surround it, the soldiers held their blades tightly in their hands, though their fear was rather obvious, seeing as their hands were shaking rather intensely and their hearts were seemingly about to burst out of their chests._

 _However, a certain short man, blonde dude with large eyebrows and a tall bespectacled woman didn't seem to have the same reaction, and the woman even seemed to be excited._

" _Levi…" muttered Hanji with wide eyes. "Is… i-is that…?!"_

" _Yes…" replied Levi with a sigh as the head of the Barbatos turned to face them. Levi and Erwin didn't really flinch much, and Hanji was basically jumping around happily. "What are your orders, Erwin?"_

" _I don't know, Levi," replied Erwin, and Levi could tell that he was genuine. Turning back, Levi was considering the option of downing it, but something stopped him. Narrowing his eyes, he spotted a Garrison trio coming at them._

" _Is that…?" muttered Levi, before he widened his eyes ever so slightly. "Commander Pixis?"_

 _Raising his brows, Erwin narrowed his eyes and widened them when he spotted the old commando walk up behind the Barbatos, making many protest._

" _Commander Pixis, what are you doing?!" exclaimed a newly returned Corp as he approached the Barbatos which turned to face him. The men behind Pixis flinched and stepped back, yet Pixis himself didn't even flinch._

" _Well done, gentlemen," congratulated Pixis with his usual old man smile, keeping his eyes on the Barbatos. "We owe you a debt of gratitude, Barbatos. Without your aid, many good men would have been lost."_

 _As he said that, many Corps couldn't believe what they were hearing, a Commander of a Military Branch thanking a Titan? It was literally unheard of. Yet, it was nothing compared to the shock they got when the bloody thing spoke._

" _Ah," it said in a young voice which Pixis was still not used to. When those words left it's invisible mouth, the Survey Corps, and even some Trainees and Garrison who weren't with the Barbatos for too long._

" _Now, I know that this is a rather tall request," continued Pixis. "But we would need assistance in clearing the Titans of Trost."_

" _You want me to help," deduced the Gundam, and Pixis nodded._

" _Correct," replied Pixis with his trademarked smile. "If you don't mind, I mean."_

" _As though I have a choice," said the thing, crouching down. Smiling, Pixis gave a nod and turned to Commander Coral._

" _Reeves?" began Pixis, making Coral straighten and salute. "Gather your Trainees and assist the Barbatos."_

" _On it!" replied Coral, turning to get his four Trainees to assist the Gundam. As he organized them, Pixis turned to the others._

" _Now, gentlemen," continued Pixis. "Your job is to clear out the rest of Trost. Understood?!"_

 _Flinching, the returned Corps, Garrison and Trainees looked between each other and nodded._

" _Yes sir!"_

* * *

"I see… but still…" began Petra, looking down. "The thing… Gundam Barbatos… it was a big help in _Operation Clean up_. Hanji deduced that at least three hundred soldiers were rescued by the Titan…"

"I know, but it's just that I can't bring myself to trust a Titan…" replied Levi. "Might be old habits."

Opening her mouth, Petra was about to agree, but the door behind them shook, making the Corps in the cafeteria jump intensely. Well, besides Levi, who knew what the heck it was. Standing up, Levi stalked up to the door and unlocked before opening it, revealing Hanji rubbing her head.

"Hehah… sorry bout' that, Heichou," greeted Major Hanji with a chuckle as she massaged a bump on her forehead.

"Hanji," greeted Levi in response, not giving her a shred of emotion. "What do you want?"

"Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeell…" said Hanji, giving him a cheeky grin. "Eren is about to be sent for his trial. So I thought I'd ask for permission to have a look at this… Barbatos."

On a normal day, Levi would smack her away while saying no. But Levi had a feeling that Zoe would not leave him alone if he didn't let her. So, with a sigh, he nodded.

"The Mechanical Titan is held in inner region of Trost," replied Levi, before Hanji zipped off, leaving behind a dust cloud which looked like Hanji Zoe. As it dissipated, Mike walked up to Levi.

"Are you sure this is a good idea…?" asked Mike, raising an eyebrow.

"It's either this or it ends up like the last time, Mike," said Levi, shivering at the last time (about five months ago) Hanji didn't get what she wanted. She pretty much cried so much and for so long, about 2 days of non-stop crying, that the entire Survey Corp HQ was flooded. When she finally stopped, everyone, even the Trainees, had to help get all her tears out of the HQ.

And why she was crying, you ask?

Well… her book on the outside world was confiscated by a higher up from Sina. **cough** …

Anyways, back to the story.

Nodding, Mike shook his head a little. "Now, should we get going? I'm sure Zackley would want us to be present just in case Eren tries something."

"Yes, but I have something I'd like you to do, Mike," said Levi, glancing at Mike.

"What is it, Levi?" asked Mike, turning to Ackerman.

"Jaeger is about to go on trial, and I have a feeling that Zackley would want to interrogate whoever is in the Barbatos," said Levi. "Over the past few days, Hanji suspected that the Barbatos is like Eren, a human in a Titan's body."

"I see," muttered Mike, rubbing his chin. "But what is it that I have to do?"

"I have this feeling that Zackley would want those who saw the Gundam in action to be there," answered Levi. "I want you to gather them."

"Can't you go?" asked Mike.

"I would, but Erwin wants me to attend this court," explained Levi bleakly.

"Understood," said Mike. "Got any names?"

"Yes, I do."

* * *

 **Trost**

Along the outer regions of Trost, our group of soldiers, primarily Survey Corps, Garrison and Trainees as the Military wasn't willing to help, were going about the place, working on fixing their broken District.

The first step to doing so was to clean up the corpses in Trost. Every one of them were issued a mouth-mask and a pair of gloves to keep the infection from the rotting bodies away from them.

And trust me, even with the Barbatos' assistance, the amount of fatalities during the Battle of Trost and Operation: Clean up was still massive.

At the moment, the soldiers cleared up about a quarter of Trost, though it was a hard thing for most to do, as, aside from the smell, they were not comfortable to see the corpses of their comrades/friends, with their lifeless eyes staring at nothing.

Of course, the same applied to our four protagonists, Mina, Mylius, Nac and Annie, though not so much Annie cuz Annie's Annie. In the few days of them walking through the outer sides of Trost, the four of them saw many bodies of their fellow Trainees, most mangled and half eaten.

Currently, as Mina and Mylius went over to assist the West side, Nac and Annie were with a smaller group at the East, looking through a certain 'barn' with a few other Garrison and Survey Corps, led by Survey Corp Commander _Luke Sys_.

Despite the East sector of Trost being largely abandoned, there were quite a few bodies in the area, Trainees, Garrison, and a few civilians, and the soldiers got to work getting their bodies out.

Kneeling down on one knee silently beside a body of a Trainee with reddish hair, Nac looked at him solemnly as Annie walked up behind him. "You knew him?" she asked, making Tias glance at her and nod sadly.

"Ruto Ray," replied Nac, closing the boy's lifeless eyes. "He was a boy from Dauper Village. I remembered that he hid Sasha's potatoes once with Lilith and Xiao Long."

"Yeah, I remember," said Annie flatly, looking at Ruto's body slightly guiltily, for reasons. After a short while of mourning, Nac stood up and looked to Annie.

"Let's take him to the others," he suggested, and Annie nodded. After they got Ruto's body to where they lined the others up at, Annie and Nac went on their way to find more bodies, before they bumped into a group of soldiers who were staring at some sort of crystal ball. "What the…"

"Ah, me preguntaba cuándo vería una de estas cosas…" came a voice behind them, making Nac and Annie turn around to spot Luke Sys, his gloved hands crossed and a mask over his face.

"Commander Sys," greeted Nac as Annie kept quiet, her face telling Sys that she didn't know what he meant, making the man chuckle uncomfortably.

"Ah… lo siento Young Miss Leonhart…" apologised Sys, smiling under his mask. "My native tongue is something not many people have heard. "I was saying that I was wondering when I'd see one of these things."

"Right, but what is that?" asked Nac. "The Trainee Instructors never told us."

Nodding, Sys took a step towards the two and glanced at the crystal. "Titans do not possess any digestive organs, so after they consume us, they essentially puke us out in these crystalline shells."

"...disgusting…" muttered Nac, feeling his insides churning up. Walking up to it, Tias narrowed his eyes at it, and, as Sys said, there were bodies of deceased Trainees and Garrison within. "How'll we identify anyone like this…"

"We can't," stated Sys, handing him a chisel. "Still, we cannot leave our camaradas in there. So come, let us get them out."

"Yes sir…"

* * *

 **The inner Walls of Trost**

Within the inner walls of Trost, a group of Military Police members stood in front of a figure which was under a large piece of cloth. A few minutes before, the thing they were guarding drew so much attention, making many divert their attention from their duty and look at the entity they were guarding, prompting the MPB to cover it up with a large superman cape… I mean Exia Repair cloak… wait… ah whatever.

What was this thing, you (probably didn't) ask? Well, it was, as you probably knew by now, the Gundam Barbatos.

After Operation Clean Up was done, the Barbatos, to their surprise, willingly surrendered to the Soldiers who fought alongside it. It took them several hours to wonder what they should do with it, but they settled with leaving it in the inner Walls Trost. They intended to leave it near the outer Wall where the breach was just in case the Armoured or Colossal Titan decided to show it's face, but they were worried that the thing would attract too much attention, so they settled on the inner region.

Sure, it still caught the eyes of many, but much less so. And the drape, while it didn't do too much to hide the rather obvious 10 metre bulge in Trost, did help a _tiny_ bit.

Currently, the few who were standing guard in front of the Barbatos went off for a break, leaving behind about ten other Junior Survey Corps who were very queasy about this job.

"Cole…?" said one of the two who were standing guard after a few hours of silence.

"Yes, Ruben?" replied the person in his late teens, looking at Ruben.

"I'm still not sure why we're keeping this here…" replied Ruben.

"I don't either…" replied Cole, nervously eyeing behind him. "But it was quite some help in Operation Clean Up."

"I heard from a Garrison that the thing lowered casualty rates by eighty to ninety five percent…" said Ruben, turning back to face the draped Gundam. "And those who saw it fight noted that it had an extremely human-like range of flexibility."

"I see…" muttered Cole, looking back alongside his pal. "Which makes me curious…"

"HELLO BOYS!" came a sudden voice, making the two MPBs whirl around in shock and aim their rifles at the woman who shouted, only to lower them when they saw that it was Hanji.

"By the Walls, Hanji!" exclaimed Cole, wiping the sweat off his brow. "What are you doing here?!"

"Why else, Cole?" asked Ruben.

"You always did know me well, Twitch," said Hanji, adjusting her large glasses.

"Don't call me Twitch…" muttered Ruben, his cheeks flushing red.

"Alrighty, Twitch," joked Hanji, making Ruben's cheeks flush deeper as Hanji looked behind them, at the Barbatos. "So, the Barbatos is under that?"

"Yeah," replied Cole, turning to face the massive, unmoving figure. "It hasn't moved since it got here."

"Well, makes my job easier!" proclaimed Hanji, smirking sadistically as she approached it.

"W-wait, Hanji?!" exclaimed Ruben widening his eyes.

"Don't get too close!" suggested Cole, holding out a hand to try and stop Hanji, but she ignored him and kept moving forward until she was an arms length from the thing. Rubbing her chin, Zoe grabbed the drape over the Barbatos and yanked it off the figure, and she smiled widely when she saw what was under it. As for Ruben and Cole, they simply looked at it in awe.

While Cole and Ruben kept their distance, Hanji looked up at the Barbatos' head. And finally, FINALLY, after five year or so, Hanji finally got a look at this thing. And boy, it was worth the wait.

The basic look was just as she remembered it. Except this time with more scars and dents. But unlike five years ago, it wasn't covered by darkness. Since there was light, she could tell that, aside from the white, there were hints of red, blue, black, dark grey and gold (gold or yellow, the choice is yours. I prefer gold cuz the thing's supposed to be a 'demon knight' to me).

The head was almost the same as she remembered it, with the snapped 'horn' and damaged right cheek guard, or whatever it was.

The chest was sleek and lightly armoured, with a blue, yellow and white breastplate. On the chest was a strange flower like symbol. Below the chest, however, was what perked up Hanji's eyebrows. It seemed to be a long spinal cord with two 'supports' holding it up (trust me, it's hard to explain the waist unit).

Its arms, at least the left arm, from shoulder to elbow, was a greyish colour with a white piece of armor protecting the upper arm and an odd shoulder piece hanging above the shoulder on a joint looking thing. From elbow to the wrist was what made her curious. The arm was the same greyish colour as the upper arm, though it was nearly twice as armoured, with a white armor plate on the inner arm, a triangular piece atop the joint which seemed to be protecting the elbow, and a wrist guard.

The outer arm, on the other hand (ba dum tss), had the same white armor, topped by dark blue armor plate. On the back of both arms was a black weapon of sorts. Hanji remembered that a Trainee reported that the two were able to blast a strong explosive weapon.

The legs made up nearly 6/10 of the height, being a lengthy 11 metres or so. On the hips were two long diamond shaped segments. She didn't know what the were exactly, but remembered from five years ago that they were able to propel the thing forward at an impressive speed.

The thighs were protected by two white armor plates which wrapped around them, with a grey segment on the top. The shins were, once again, that dark grey colour protected by that massive shin armor. In the knees of each were the same symbol on its chest, not that she could see it since it was kneeling .

The feet were an oddity, adding about a 1.8 metres height to this Titan. Scribbling all that onto her notebook, Hanji smiled up at the 18.8 metre.

"The structure of the Titan is oddly humanoid…" she muttered to herself. "I suppose it explains how it can move so much like us."

"I see…" muttered Ruben, rubbing his chin. "I never thought of that…"

"You're welcome, Twitch," said Hanji jokingly with a smile, making Ruben groan.

As Ruben groaned at his unfortunate nickname, Hanji, being the daredevil she was, placed a hand on the Gundam's leg unit, causing Cole and Ruben to jump, wary about waking it up by accident.

"It's… warm," she muttered, pressing her face up to it, making both Cole and Ruben un-tensed a little when the 18.8 metre didn't even move, though the silence and lack of movement did keep them on the edge just in case.

Once she pulled her face off, Hanji began to circle around the Barbatos, curious about what else it had. And it didn't take much longer for her to spot a symbol of sorts on the arm shield thing of the Gundam which seemed painted on.

The painting was a crimson red colour and resembled a flower of sorts. And, at least to her, it looked rather… beautiful.

"What is this?" she wondered out loud, placing a hand against it.

* * *

While Hanji snooped around the Barbatos, Cole and Ruben kept their eyes and guns trained on the thing just in case. Yet, despite their vigilance, they didn't notice the optics of the Barbatos tracking Hanji.

Why? Well, several minutes ago, the pilot, whom we all know as Mika, was sound asleep, all peaceful and stuff on the cockpit seat. The boy did know about the drape over the Barbatos, but he hardly cared as it acted as nothing more than an obstruction from the outside. Sure, they would try to destroy the Gundam, but Mika doubt that they'd dare.

So, to capitalize on this thing over his MS, Augus used the darkness to get some well deserved sleep, as he was fighting for nearly three days straight, as the soldiers really didn't want his MS to be in Rose. And when the drape was pulled off, it gave him quite the morning alarm.

Once the blurriness left his eyes, Augus saw the woman called Hanji, the madwoman he 'met' years ago before the Fall of Shiganshina.

Despite Mika knowing that the Barbatos wouldn't be destroyed here, he was still wary of that Hanji woman, seeing as she flooded the SC-HQ a couple months back. Though Mika was a little amused by how enthusiastic Zoe was.

As Hanji examined the thing closely, Mika bit down on a piece of bread, thankful that he saved up some food and water rations in the Barbatos for emergencies in the past few years. Granted, some of them had grown stale, but he's eaten worse. Much much worst.

"What is this…" came Hanji's voice, making Mika raise an eyebrow. Swiveling the right optic towards Hanji, Mika saw that the woman was looking at the Tekkadan symbol Ride painted on the arm 'shield' of the Barbatos F5-GT and F6.

Despite Mika telling himself to not speak, he decided that talking to this brainiac would be more interesting than just sitting around.

Leaning back, Mika plugged into the Alaya System, causing the optics of the Barbatos to glow a powerful shade of green.

"H-Hanji!" exclaimed Cole, taking a big step back as the eyes of the big T lit up.

"Yes, Randolph?" said Hanji, using Cole's family name.

"T-T-The… Titan…!" yelled Ruben, alerting several other Military Police members who came rushing towards the site, rifles aimed. Yet, despite their numbers, they were still terrified, even if the thing didn't move.

"That," came a young voice, making the MPBs gasp or step back in shock. "Is my group's symbol."

While the other soldiers looked up in shock, Hanji only smiled widely up at the thing. And she swore that something moved behind those glassy eyes of the Barbatos turned right towards her.

"I-IT TALKS?!" exclaimed Cole, stepping back as the other MPBs took aim.

"W-WAIT!" exclaimed Hanji, holding them back like how that dude from Jurassic World held them raptors back. "Don't shoot! That's an order!"

Though Hanji wasn't their commanding officer, Hell, she wasn't even an MPB, they lowered their rifles. None of them wanted to mess with Zoe, after all. The woman would gladly feed them to the two captured Titans without a second thought.

When the rifles were down, Hanji turned back and that the head of the Barbatos shifted a little, now looking right at her. Anyone else would be horrified, but Hanji only smiled.

"Be careful, Hanji!" exclaimed a Corp.

"Ah,calm your tits, Ela," said Hanji, smiling as she looked up to greet it. "Heya!"

"Ah," was her reply, sounding more blank than Levi's voice that it actually surprised her.

"Sooooo, what's your name?" she asked, smiling. "Don't lie to me! I've been waiting five years to know what you are!"

"Barbatos," it replied simply.

"Bar-Bah-Toes," repeated Hanji, and she swore she heard soft laughter. "So, Barbatos, what does that symbol mean?"

"It represents my group," replied the Barbatos simply.

"Group… are there any more like you?"

"..."

It didn't seem too keen on answering that, not that Hanji cared. She was about to ask again, but a Garrison swung in. She recognized him as Kuro.

"Commander Hanji!" he greeted, saluting his commander. shakily "Eren Jaeger's trial has ended! Zackley requests to speak with the Barbatos, or at least speak with the human"

"Awh… so soon?" whined Hanji. "But… how're we gonna fit him in the court?"

As she said that, the Barbatos' head shifted down as though it there were no backbone in the thing, which was debatable at this point considering Titans. After that happened, steam was pushed out of the vents on the thing, IE the mouthplate, chest, shins and other places.

Following the thing got rid of the steam, the middle of it's chest began to swivel down, followed by two grey flaps.

And what happened next made several MPBs faint or gasps very loudly.

And as for Hanji, she only smiled wider. Kuro, on the other hand, fainted.

* * *

 **Court Room, Wall Sina**

Within the courtroom of Sina, several soldiers sat as Zackley thought about Eren's fate. Among them were our main characters and the others who witnessed both Eren's _Titan_ ic (hehehe) rage and the Barbatos' fury.

Yawning, Annie rested her head on her hand, hoping that this would end soon as it nearly bored her to death. The only thing she enjoyed was seeing Eren get beaten into a pulp by Levi. That was basically what kept her entertained while the thing dragged on. Nac and Mina, on the other hand, kept flinching after every kick Levi gave Jaeger.

Yet, something else caught her attention. "Mina," said Annie, making her depressed looking friend turn to the blonde. "Are you alright?"

"I… I'm alright," replied Mina with a small smile, though Annie saw right through that smile and knew that something was bothering her. And it didn't really take long for Annie to realize what she was thinking of.

' _Mikazuki Augus…'_ she thought, frowning deeper as she turned away from her friend. The boy was not seen for many days. During the battle for Trost, the kid wasn't seen during the entire Battle for Trost and even after the battle was over, he was nowhere to be seen. Hell, everytime Mina saw a dead body she'd hold her breath and hope it wasn't Augus.

Nac wasn't much different. The boy was still cheery, but not as much as before, his friendly personality cracking up every so often when he saw a body similar to Mika's. And, even though she wasn't one who was too emotional when it came to friends who perished, Annie did feel a tiny bit down(er than usual) at his absence.

"I have made my decision…" said Zackley after an hour and a half of debating, snapping Annie out of it. When he said that, Mikasa and Armin leaned forward, hearts pumping quickly while most of the court sighed in relief as it was finally about to be over.

"Eren Jaeger shall be moved to the Survey Corps."

When those words left his lips, Mikasa leaned back in her seat and took a deep breath while Armin held his hand to his heart, smiling a lot. When Eren looked to him, Armin gave a thumbs up.

"Now, might I ask, where is the human within the Mechanical Titan?" asked Zackley, making everyone else slump back, furious that this thing was still going.

"Zackley," piped up Erwin, glancing up at Zackley. "Hanji is currently trying to retrieve the person."

"Yes, but what is taking her so long?" demanded Zackley.

"Well," came Levi's voice. "Over the past four days, no human has came out of the nape of the Barbatos."

"Do you intend to tell me that this… thing is just a Abnormal?" asked Zackley.

"Perhaps," replied Erwin, before some footsteps were heard, alongside something being dragged. And suddenly, the door was kicked open.

And when I say kick. I really mean KICK. The force of said kick was so great that the door flew straight off it's hinges and kicked up some dust. And suddenly, something slammed right down onto the ground, denting the floor and dispelling the dust.

With the dust gone, the court saw who made the boom. Hanji Zoe. She had a large smile on her face and her foot was apparently what made the dent.

"Hanji Zoe…" grumbled Zackley. "What is the meaning of breaking the door to the courtroom…"

"Don't worry, Zackley!" exclaimed Hanji, smirking. "I have good reasons!"

"Might I ask _WHY_ ," replied Zackley, groaning.

"Well, because I thought the Pilot of the _Gundam Barbatos_ required a grand entrance!" said Hanji, smiling as she stepped to the side.

And when the person walked in, everyone in the whispered negatively about another Titan in a human's body while the trio of Mina, Nac and Annie's eyes widened their eyes beyond belief.

"You have a way with words…" muttered the kid, making Hanji prop up her glasses proudly.

"I'll take that as a complement," said Hanji smugly as the boy beside him huffed in amusement.

"May I ask who is this… boy?" asked Zackley, glaring at the boy in the puffy green snow jacket.

"Well, Zackley, allow me to introduce Mikazuki Augus, a member of the 103rd Trainee Corps!" introduced Hanji, smiling as she motioned to the boy, who just glanced at her unenthusiastically.

"Ah," muttered Mika, scanning the room thoroughly. And when he laid his eyes on his friends, his face darkened by a few tiny shades.

"Miss Zoe," said Zackley, quirking up a brow as Mika and Hanji walked forward into the court, with Hanji curving towards Levi while Mika walked up to the center of the court, beside Eren. "What do you mean by… pilot?"

"Ah! Well you see, Zackley," started Hanji, pulling out her notebook and flipping through the pages until she landed on the page with a crude sketch of the Barbatos. "The Barbatos, or Mechanical Titan as some call it, is not a Titan. It is a piece of machinery known as a _Mobile Suit_."

"Mobile Suit…?" repeated Zackley, turning to glare at Mika. And, to his surprise, the boy glared back with three times the intensity, making him flinch a little. Usually anyone who was before him would be trembling in fear. Yet this kid's glare made his look like he was a kid glaring at the local bully who stole his sweets before he crushed him.

"What are you, Trainee?" asked Zackley. "A human who possesses the ability to turn into a Titan?"

And Mika gave him a look which seemed to ask if he were retarded. "I'm human."

"Then explain that Titan body!"

"Oh, that's my Mobile Suit. Barbatos," replied Mika calmly, scratching his head at Zackley's tone. It was most likely because not many people yelled about his MS unless they were trying to kill him.

"Mobile suit…" whispered Armin, Annie and Hanji.

"I see…" muttered Zackley "How did you come to build this… Gundam?"

"I did not," answered Mika. "They were built a long time ago."

"How do you control it, Augus?" asked Erwin in place of Zackley, looking at Mika. Looking around, Mika wondered if it would be wise to show the Alaya system here. But he eventually thought 'screw it' and removed his Trainee Corp jacket, which did make a couple of the girls blush at the sight of the tight muscles on his arms, primarily Mina and Annie, though Mina did try to hide it while Annie didn't have too much of it on her face.

Turning, Mika showed the crowd the three spine like structures on his back. Each had a silver tip. "With this."

"What is that…?" questioned Keith with a rather disgusted look.

"Alaya Vijnana system, an organic system implanted inside me about ten years ago…" replied Mika, re-wearing his jacket.

The area once again was engulfed by whispers about the Alaya Vijnana system. Annoyed, Mika closed his eyes and took a deep breath, at least until a man spoke up. Well, to be more specific, yelled "DEMON!"

"Hoh?" huffed Mika, turning to the side to look for whoever said that. And he eventually saw who yelled. It was some bloke in a kinda christian outfit with them robes (no offence to you christian folks). From what Mika knew, he was known as Pastor Nick or something.

The man was well known to most in Sina but not much to those of Rose as Sina held most of the 'Wall Cults'. Hell, he was so 'not known' to those of Rose that Mika didn't even know who he was until several months ago when Armin spoke about them cults and mentioned Nick's name. Aside from that, he didn't hear about Nick at all.

"Those spines… they must be gifts from the demons outside the Walls!" exclaimed Nick, making the court stare at him or gasp in shock(and for Mika to stare at him in mild amusement). And seeing as most of those in the courtroom from Sina and believed that the Walls were their Gods, they pretty much believed him and began to whisper about the 'Devil' in the room. "He has exchanged his soul for power, power to control the Devil known as Barbatos! Surely, you all must see! This fiend is most definitely aligned with the monster who calls himself Eren Jaeger!"

"Pastor Nick…" started Zackley, looking at the man in annoyance as Mika ate a raisin. "Please, calm yourself."

"Calm?!" exclaimed Nick, clearly riled up. "This is not the time for calm! It is time to act! We must dispel the demons who have infiltrated our Walls and-"

As he went on, Mika turned to face his three friends, and for some reason both Nac and Mina looked rather mad, but not at him, instead at Nick. Which was a surprise, as he thought they considered him a demon by now, though he didn't really mind as they seemed to still be friends. Annie, while remaining calmer, did clench and unclench her fists.

"Pastor Nick! That is enough!" shouted Zackley, catching Mika's attention. Yet Pastor Nick didn't stop, instead he kept yelling about how he wanted the 'devils' to be slain. And eventually, after five minutes of enduring this, Mika got tired of it.

Reaching into his Trainee Corp jacket, Mika felt inside, not reaching for his raisins for once. And after a few seconds, he finally touched what he was looking for, a cold, glossy object.

Pulling his arm out, Mika glanced at the pistol in his hand. The entire courtroom only looked at him, wondering what the thing was, before Mika glared at Nick. Though tempting, Mika knew that shooting Nick would be counterproductive to what he wanted, a place to reside in. So, with a sigh, the boy reluctantly adjusted his grip on the pistol so that he was holding it by the barrel and tossed the pistol right at Nick. The weapon slammed right into his head and left a bump while recoiling off it, right in front of the stands.

"Sorry about that," apologized Mika quarter-heartedly, having to resist smirking.

"Yes… now… since the problem is taken care of, back to our proceedings," muttered Zackley, clearing his throat. "We have discussed the topic of what you are, so now I suggest we move on to the topic of where you came from."

"Mars," replied Mika right after he said that.

"Where is this… Mars?" asked Zackley. And Mika only pointed up to the sky.

"Space," he said, making the entire courtroom burst out in shock.

"Space?!"

"Impossible! We haven't even made much advancements in our cannons!"

"What if he's just a crazy kid?"

Narrowing his eyes, Zackley checked Mika for any signs of lies, yet, there was nothing. His eyes held no sign of lying and his body language showed no signs either.

"I see," said Zackley, closing his eyes and nodding. "How did you come here, then?"

"Honestly, I have no clue," answered Mikazuki honestly, scratching the back of his head. "I only remember waking up in the atmosphere five years ago and crashing down."

"Wait…" came a voice behind Mika. turning, he saw Eren looking at him, and Jaeger himself looked rather pained. Levi almost kicked him, but Zackley held a hand up. "You're that shooting star we saw five years ago?"

"I suppose so," replied Mika, looking up at Zackley. The man was hard to read, but Mika could make out that he was wondering what to do with him. That is, until he decided to ask another question.

"Why did you decide to help us?" asked Zackley. "You could have easily escaped inside the Mechan-"

"Barbatos!" inserted Hanji, which Zackley ignored.

"-ical Titan, but why did you stay?"

"... I will never leave my friends to die," came his reply. And that one sentence made Annie, Mina and Nac's eyes to widen quite a lot, surprised that he'd stay for that one reason.

"So you stayed behind to save those whom you consider friends?" asked Levi, crossing his arms, a little amused.

"Hai," replied Mika, giving his friends a quick glance. And he swore that Mina and Annie blushed a tiny bit. "Those who are my friends are the only things that are important to me."

"Even more so than your life?" asked Coral, raising an eyebrow.

"I am willing to die for them," replied Mika, making several people in the crowd gasp or flinch in surprise, even surprising his friends at how dedicated he was to them.

"I see…" muttered Zackley, rubbing his chin.

"Mikazuki," came Erwin's voice, making everyone look at him. "So you are saying that, so long as your friends live, you will fight for humanity?"

"If that helps them stay alive," replied Mika, glancing at Erwin. "Then I will fight until I die."

When he heard that, Erwin turned to Zackley.

"Zackley" he said. "I have a proposal to make."

"I'm listening."

"From what we know, Mikazuki Augus's intentions are to protect those whom he cares for," said Erwin. "And this intention keeps him from attempting to turn on us."

"What does this have to do with the problem at hand, Smith?" asked Zackley, raising an eyebrow.

"I was intending to ask if it would be logical if we assigned Mikazuki Augus to the Survey Corps," he said, making several Corps mutter between themselves. "From what I have seen, Augus is capable of impressive feats when facing Titans. Aside from securing our victory in the Struggle for Trost, Mikazuki was able to fend off nearly twenty Titans and keep the Armoured Titan at bay.

"Also, if we have the Gundam Barbatos alongside Eren on our side, the chances of us retaking Maria increase by a large amount. And if Jaeger ever goes out of control as a Titan, he could very well subdue him."

Eren then gulped at that statement. Number 2 of his Training and possibly the strongest person in it was now going to babysit him?! He couldn't help but sweat in fear at the thought. Mika, on the other hand, didn't mind. He only cared about three people, that was all. Well, four if you count Ms Carolina.

"You make a good argument, Erwin," said Zackley, sighing as he closed his eyes and rested his head on his hands, thinking And after a minute, he made up his mind.

"Mikazuki Augustine."

"It's just Augus," informed Keith, raising a finger.

"Whatever. I have made up my mind."

And the entire court went quiet, leaning in close to listen in.

* * *

 **After the court proceedings**

Sitting on his own in the side of the courtroom, Mika popped a raisin into his mouth, bored out of his mind.

Thirty minutes prior, Zackley made up his mind and said that Mika would be transferred to the Survey Corps. After that was done, the room basically cleared out in an instant. Mina, Nac and Annie were wanting to speak to him, but Mike told them that it would have to wait, as Erwin wished to speak to Mika.

And here he was, thirty minutes later, sitting on his own, bored.

Finally, after a long wait, Erwin reentered the courtroom, flanked by Hanji, Mike, and Levi (Levioli Levioli, have you washed your clotheli? That was horrible). Deciding to be at least a little respectful, Mika stood up in greeting.

"My apologies for the long wait, Mikazuki," apologized Erwin, giving a warm smile. "I had to have a little chat with Jaeger."

"Ah," was his reply.

"Are you hurt?" asked Hanji, zipping past Erwin and right to Mika. "Do you need water? Or some rest? Could I see your Alaya system?"

"...no," was her reply, making Hanji pout and walk off. As she did, Erwin and Mika watched, with Mika watching with amusement.

"Don't mind Hanji," advised Erwin, smiling. "She's like that."

"Ah."

"I must also apologise for the rather cold reception you got, Mikazuki Augus," said Erwin. "During court procedures, we soldiers tend to keep a straight face and serious attitude."

"I'm used to it," Mika said, which wasn't exactly a lie.

"I see…" muttered Erwin, nodding before he stuck a hand out for a handshake. "Nonetheless, I am glad that you took our offer. The Survey Corps are usually comprised of 10% of the Trainee Corps who graduate as our occupation involved high risks of death and hardships when speaking to other soldiers."

Nodding, Mika glanced at the hand before raising up and looking at his own, his smudged up hand. One of the two hands which killed many soldiers of Gjallarhorn, the First Group of CGS and even some people who tried to harm him before he came here. He then looked back at Erwin. Though he didn't know too much, a lot of gossip was thrown around about the man back in the Trainee days, such as him being the greatest hope for mankind and him being the best leader the Corps had for a long time.

And, in his eyes, he was not worthy to shake his hand.

"I do as well, sir," came his reply as Mika balled his hand up into a fist. Seeing that Mika didn't take his shake, Erwin simply nodded and lowered his arm.

"Levi, get Mika his Survey Corp uniform," instructed Erwin.

"On it," replied Levi as he walked towards Mika. "Come on, Demon."

Nodding, Mika simply followed the shorter man out. When the two were gone, Hanji walked up to Erwin and crossed her arms.

"You seem a little rejected at the fact that he didn't accept your hand," she said. "Might I ask why?"

"It's nothing, Hanji," replied Erwin. "It's just that… he looked as though he thought wasn't worthy of shaking my hand, when really, it is the other way around."

"Oh?" said a surprised Hanji. "Really? How so?"

"We are all mere humans, Hanji," replied Erwin. "Yet, that look in Mikazuki Augus' eyes tells me that he has seen things… things which would make any of us fall to our knees and beg for it to stop.

"Things that only a devil would be able to go through."

* * *

 **Several thousand, or million, lightyears away**

Tekkadan…

The Iron Flower that will never wilt.

That was their slogan, and they damn well followed it through and through. About five years ago, they were nobodies, but now, they were one of the most feared Mercenary Group's out there.

Yet, it wouldn't have been so without their former top pilot, Mikazuki Augus, who played a massive role in their contract and paved the way for many more to come. Yet, after his death/disappearance, many Tekkadan members took it hard, blaming themselves for not being there to save the boy.

Despite this, they held strong. Their two remaining MS pilots took Mika's place as Tekkadan's Ace, though one was much better than the other. Akihiro Atland, new ace of Tekkadan and pilot of the ASW-G-11 Gundam Gusion Rebake Full City (fucking long name), and the second best and deputy boss, Norba Shino, average good guy and Pink Comet, pilot of the STH-16 Shiden Kai, or as we all call it, the _**RYUSEI GO III**_.

I'm so sorry. I really love all the Ryusei Go's.

Anyways, while Mika was presumed dead, their leader, Orga Itsuka, pressed on, moving forward through all the hard times with the help of Tekkadan, his family, be it old or new members.

After all, it would be what Mika would have wanted.

Anyways, now that you're caught up let's get to what they're doing.

Inside of the Tekkadan HQ, which was basically the old CGS HQ except with a Tekkadan logo, Orga sat by his table in his office, crunching the numbers on a calculator. In the past five and a half years, the price for ammo and Nano Laminated armor went up by 20-50%, depending on where you got them.

Which was a pain really, since Orga wanted to stock up on as many of these as he could just in case.

Luckily, the fact that Tekkadan was growing so rapidly lowered the amount of times they were attacked.

Orga supposed he should be happy, but there was an empty hole inside him. An empty Mikazuki shaped hole. He didn't know how to fix it. He only knew that Mika wanted him to move forward and grow Tekkadan even bigger. And that's what he'll do god dammit!

Sighing, he slumped down on his chair as his assistant (i think anyways), Merribit, walked in.

"What is it…"

"It's Gjallarhorn," she informed, flashing a sincere smile. "A certain Mcgillis Fareed wished to speak to you."

"I see," replied Orga. "Might I ask why?"

"According to him, it has something to do with a title," she responded.

Nodding, Orga silently grunted. "Inform me when he arrives."

* * *

 **About an hour later**

"What're those Mobile Suits doing here?" asked Zack as he stacked a few crates of ammunition atop each other.

"I dunno…" muttered Hush.

At the base of the Tekkadan base, three Graze Ritters were kneeling in front of HQ. Exiting the red and grey MS' were two former Elite soldiers who belonged in Lady Cartas team. The two of them were blondes… for obvious reasons.

Emerging from the commander type, which was basically the same with blue instead of grey and longer shoulder pads, was Mcgillis Fareed, or Lord Fareed if you will, one of the Seven-Stars of Gjallarhorn.

Climbing down their Mobile Suits, Mcgillis greeted Orga with a handshake. "Orga."

"Mcgillis," retorted Itsuka. With the introductions done, Orga led his customer to his office while the Elite two stayed by the MS'.

* * *

 **In Orga's office**

"So, what was it you wanted tell me about this King of Mars title? Is our agreement over?"

Laughing softly, Mcgillis smirked. "That was just an excuse to talk to you, Itsuka."

Raising an eyebrow, Orga questioned him. "You always have a reason to meet us. You never come over just for some tea and crumpets."

"I know, and allow me to cut to the chase," started Mcgillis. "There is a chance that Mikazuki Augus is still alive."

Right when he said that, Orga slammed his fist onto his desk "Are you trying to make me snap, Fareed…"

"I am not joking, Itsuka," assured Mcgillis. Orga, however, was still fuming with anger. But something in Fareed's eyes told him he wasn't lying. Adjusting his tie, Orga sighed and sat back down, his heart pumping. Smiling at him, Mcgillis talked about the self destruct, leaving a few parts of the conversation as vague as he could.

"First, I should ask, why program Self Destructs?"

"Only in the most valuable Mobile Suits," explained Mcgillis. "Valkyrie, Gundam and certain Graze Frames (Schwalbe and Eins, if you will) were outfitted with those in order to keep them from enemy hands"

"I see… but if a Mobile suit was to self destruct."

"It would destroy anything close to it."

"But why is it when the Graze which fought Mika that time detonated, it did not take us out as well…"

"That is why I am her to speak to you, Orga. I studied the video footage many times. In the past, if an Ahab Reactor were to detonate, it would destroy both itself, the enemy Mobile suit and some of it's surroundings. But this one did not," explained Mcgillis. "So I dug deep into the history of Gjallarhorn, deep into the past.

"After about three years of searching, I found a lead. At the end of the Calamity War, a stolen Gundam Frame known as the Flauros fought a Schwalbe Graze piloted by a former Seven Star member.

"Of course, the Gundam won, and the pilot activated it's self destruct system. But instead of taking apart the both himself and the Flauros, they simply disappeared."

Flinching, Orga tried to digest all that info. As he did, Mcgillis continued. "But about a month after the incident, Gjallarhorn members picked up its Ahab Wave signal. It was millions of lightyears away from the Solar System, and so faint that they dismissed it as a glitch in the system."

"Wait… you don't mean…"

"I do," cut off Mcgillis. "I am implying that the Barbatos, and possibly Mikazuki, are somewhere in space, light years away."

"How would you know?"

"Because four years ago, we picked up the Barbatos' Ahab Wave signal, as faint as the Flauro's," explained Mcgillis.

Widening his eyes, Orga finally felt a tiny bit of hope, which was crushed by one simple thought. "But how will we know if he's alive?"

"We cannot know for sure," stated Fareed. "But even so, it would be nice to even recover the Barbatos."

"You have a point…" muttered Orga. "But how would we even get there?"

Laughing, Mcgillis simply smiled. "In the past two years, after I learnt of how they did such a ludicrous thing, I got the best engineers in Gjallarhorn to try and recreate the process."

"You came prepared," complemented Orga.

"It makes me a good Seven-Star members," he replied. "We are in the final stages of building the 'Stargate'. I was thinking that you and your Tekkadan members could maybe test it out once we finish?"

"Why are you doing this…?" questioned Orga.

"Call it repayment for assisting," replied Mcgillis, smiling. "You've given me the chance to reform Gjallarhorn. This is probably the very least I could do to repay you."

"But how can I trust you? You did turn on your best friend."

"You can't, but she does," replied Fareed, passing him a document. Reading it, Orga widened his eyes when he saw the signature.

"Kudelia Aina Bernstein…" he whispered. Apparently he had approached Kudelia for a partnership with the Admoss company three years ago. And that pretty much convinced Orga, for the most part.

"I guess I can trust you, or you're just trying too hard to mislead us"

Standing, Mcgillis smiled. "It's good that you think that, don't trust anyone completely. I will contact you when the Stargate is complete."

"Thank you, Mcgillis," said Orga, standing and shaking his hand.

As he left, Tekkadan members started pouring into his office. Among those were Atra, Ride, Akihiro, Yamagi and so on so fourth.

"Oi… boss… do you think wa can trust him?" asked Shino skeptically.

"Yeah… he wasn't really trustworthy, even after we worked five years with him," added Eugene, remembering the battle against the White Fang and Deceptibots where Mcgillis's backup arrived too late.

"I doubt him as well, my friends," started Orga. "But if there's a chance that Mikazuki is alive… we must take it."

While the rest of Tekkadan were skeptical, Takaki and Atra readily agreed on that notion. Akihiro and Shino seemed to agree that having Mikazuki back would make their battles much, much easier, and since Shino agreed, Yamagi pretty much went positive immediately.

"So it's settled then," started Orga. "Yuki, Takaki, Yamagi, make sure the Mobile Suits are maintained. Akihiro, Shino, try to avoid combat at all cost. When this... 'Stargate' is finished, we will send the two of you through."

Nodding, Akihiro and Shino left the room and towards the MS hangar. There, they bumped into Hush Middy, a newer member of Tekkadan.

"Hey, Shino," he piped up, earning Norba's attention. "What's so special about Mikazuki anyways?"

Smiling, Shino looked at the empty space in the far end of the room. The area where the Gundam Barbatos used to kneel as a power supply for CGS.

"Mikazuki… if viewed from an outsider's point of view, is your average Child Soldier, desensitised to violence and toughened by combat. But dig deep enough under the layers and you'd find that he's just a normal kid who knows he has to be strong to survive.

"Honestly, if he wasn't dragged into this conflict, Mika may have just been a weak child straggling on the road, probably dead.

"And on top of that, Mika's pilot skills are top notch thanks to the Alaya Vijnana. Well, top notch in Tekkadan's terms anyways."

"So what?" questioned Hush, his tone mocking. "So he's basically stronger than all of us? And he can pilot that thing better just because he has the Alaya Vijnana? That's pathetic."

Sighing, Shino only turned to face the Ryusei Go III (3), the IO Shiden frame custom made for Norba months ago. It was a manly a pink plan with some... fierce looking eyes. That made it look more interesting when compared to the normal, military green Shiden.

Hush had no clue how much Mika contribited to Tekkadan. Without that boy, he doubted that they'd even come this far as a company. But without him, these five years were most definately tougher than expected, and if he were here, their lives in combat would be quite a bit easier due to his MS combat skills.

"Oi, Mikazuki," said Shino to no one in particular. "You better be alive, wherever you are. I wanna see your face when you see how far we've come and how proud you are of Orga."

* * *

 **Orga's office**

Looking down silently, Orga said nothing for a couple minutes until Merribit piped up. "I'm in contact with your brother, Orga."

"Thank you, Miss Merribit," thanked Orga, nodding as the tablet in front of him came online, and his 'brother' came on, and, surprisingly, without Amida behind him for once. "Naze."

Now, he wasn't exactly Orga's brother. Now, I'll need to delve into the Iron Blooded Orphan's older episodes to tell you about the king of Harems. Suck it Issei.

Naze Turbine was a tall man with long black hair and blue eyes, and always wore a white suit, who worked in the organization called 'Teiwaz', a company who worked around the Jupiter branch. It was ran by Mr Macmurdo, a true old bad ass. He ran it like the gosh darn mafia, according to most people.

But Naze, oh Naze. He was a smooth talker, able to charm almost any girl he comes by. We know this because his entire crew, dubbed the Turbines, was entirely made up of his wives. I'm not kidding. Naze Turbine's entire crew was his harem.

He's that smooth. Once again, suck it Hyoudo. Just don't try and cross him when he's in a bad mood. He's quite the ruthless one towards enemies.

"Orga?" greeted Naze with a smile on his face. "This is unexpected, usually it would be me who calls you."

"Ah, it usually is," replied Orga, smiling, which made Naze flinch a tiny bit as, after Mika was presumed dead, Orga's smiled became extremely few and far.

"I'm guessing it's something important?" asked Naze curiously. "Did you become the King or something?"

"No… not really…" replied Orga, before he went on to tell his Aniki what Lord Fareed (Mcgillis) said to him. At the end of it all, he asked his bro what he thought of it.

"It doesn't matter what I think, Orga," replied Naze, smiling. "It's about what you think."

"What do you mean, brother?" asked Orga.

"Are you willing to take this chance? Are you willing to go to this extreme to get your closest friend back? Those are questions only you can answer yourself, little brother."

That was the main question which he hoped his bro could answer as he didn't know. On one

hand, Mcgillis was a shady character, misleading his bff and person who loved him into doing what he wanted. Hell, he personally killed his BFF and led his 'lover' to her death. He could very well just be leading Tekkadan to their doom.

But still, this was a big opportunity to possibly recover his old (not literally) friend. Orga and Mika were known for being rather inseparable from each other, and this was a chance of a lifetime to get his little (almost) brother back.

Looking at the tablet, Orga nodded. "I am."

* * *

 **Well that was rather filler-ish, right? Well I suppose so.**

 **Anyways, YES. I finally have proper reasons to send Tekkadan members to the Walls, probably not anytime soon, but in the future perhaps.**

 **P.S; special mention to Vangran who actually praised this story. *le beats chest* thanks mah man**


	13. Chasing out the filth

**I've run out of intros... so basically have a nice read**

* * *

 **Outer Wall of Rose (yes, I know the old Survey Corp HQ was somewhere in the middle of the place, but just for this once, I'm changing one thing. Hope ya don't mind)**

Riding towards the area where they decided to keep Jaeger and Mika/Barbatos, Team Levi, plus Eren of course, slowly trotted towards the place on their respective horseys.

When the gang arrived at the place which was somewhere at the edge of Rose, near the gate to the Karanese District, Eren saw that it resembled a castle more than anything else.

It was most likely chosen because it was well away from the any major towns, most likely because they wished to keep Eren and the Gundam away from the public. And who could blame em? If you had two weapons of mass destruction, with one of the two being able to possibly destroying all of them, you'd probably want to keep them secrets, after all.

Anyways, moving away from the local geographical location of the place, Eren looked up at the place in slight awe. He didn't know too much of the place, but he did hear that it was a former Survey Corp base, abandoned a long while back. Before it was turned into the base, it was a castle of sorts, which explained the look.

The Walls were easily over 30 metres (maybe) in height, making it much easier to hide the Barbatos, even if it was standing.

"What do you think?"

Looking to his left, he saw Petra riding beside him on his horse. Looking to the HQ, Eren admittedly found it impressive. "Yeah, it is."

Inside, Eren looked around at the interior of the place. It was all dusty and weed filled, but it was better than nothing. As he pet his horse, he noticed the Elites gathering around the place and chatting, with Petra repremanding another dude for freaking Eren out a little.

As she did, Eren narrowed his eyes at Petra. She was as short as usual, with that ginger hair and Survey Corp cloak.

 _"Petra Ral. She's taken down 10 Titans, assisted in another 46."_

As for the other chump, he had a similar hair colour to Jean, though his hair was styled up to look like Levi for unobvious reasons.

 _"Olou Bossard,'_ identified Eren. ' _He's taken down 39, assisted with 9."_

Turning, he saw another three walking by.

The first had blonde hair tied up in a ponytail and the remains of a shaved off beard. Like both Olou and Petra. He wore his SC cloak proudly.

 _"Eld Gin,'_ thought Eren, continuing this naming marathon. ' _He's beaten 14 of them and assisted with 32."_

Finally, there was a dude with an oddly styled hairstyle, one which was reminiscent of a duck. He had a tan complexion alongside the hair.

 _"Gunther Schultz,'_ finished Eren. ' _He's brought down 7 and assisted with another 40."_

They were the Elites of the Elite, the ones that were to bring him down if he were to go rogue. Or in a more cheery sense, they were the ones who were supposed to fight with him.

But still… he wasn't too worried about them possibly coming to kill him. He was more worried about something much, much taller, stronger, and more metallic.

Coincidentally, the loud sound of seven thrusters stopping and a massive foot scraping onto the concrete was heard outside the area. Rushing out, Petra, Eld and Eren rushed outside, and found the Barbatos kneeling down, its hand opened up, allowing the main man Levi to hop off.

"I still don't trust that… thing," said Olou tensely. As he finished his sentence, the chest expelled a massive amount of steam and opened up, allowing a short kid (who was still taller than Levi) in his uniform to emerge.

The Elites took a step back as Mikazuki jumped down from the cockpit of Barbatos. Eren would have told him to get lost, but he didn't. Mainly out of fear, but partly because he was now a Survey Corp. And he had the cloak for proof. Petra would have given it to him by the end of the week, but Levi said that he'd go and get it done today to save her the time.

When he was on ground level, Levi stepped past the group and looked at the taller (not by much tho) kid. "Good. Now that you guys are here, we can start."

"Start?" questioned Eren. "Start what?"

Sighing, Levi walked into the base. Following, Mika looked around the area and nodded. "This place. It's covered in weeds," started Levi. "It's been abandoned for years. Inside, a sea of dust is probably awaiting us. This is a severe problem. We must sort it out immediately."

* * *

 **Clean up duty**

Groaning under his breath, Mika swung up onto the sides of this HQ, a rag in his grip and trying to clean a small spot on the wall.

The kid's been hanging there for about thirty minutes, trying to clean his spot with no one coming to assist. It was something Mika hardly cared about, as he appreciated a challenge. And besides, he had a feeling that the inside of the place needed some cleaning too.

Still, as he cleaned up, he couldn't help but remember when Levi and he were collecting the cloaks.

* * *

 **About a day prior**

 _Looking through the Survey Corp uniform room, Levi scanned every one of the racks to look for a size for Mika. as he did that, Mika was, admittedly, surprised by the large amount of Cloaks/Uniforms bearing the Wings of Freedom in the place._

" _Most of the Trainees don't join the Survey Corps," said Levi, as if reading his mind. "That's why we have a lot of these in storage."_

" _Ah," was his reply, short (_ _ **snickers**_ _) and simple, which surprised Levi as most people would want to strike up conversations with the man. But Mika's tone said that he wasn't even a little interested in him at all._

" _So, you're from some other world?" asked Levi, deciding to at least strike up a conversation as he rummaged through the uniform/cloak room._

" _Ah," replied Mika, sounding as unenthused as usual._

" _What's your world like?" questioned Levi, placing a shirt which was too small for Augus._

" _It doesn't have Titans," was his answer. "But life isn't much easier."_

" _How so?" asked Levi, finally finding an outfit the right size for Mika._

" _Political reasons," replied Mika, his gaze darkening a little. "I don't know much about that kind of stuff."_

" _Ah," said Levi, echoing Mika, feeling a tad bit disappointed that he couldn't hear about his place as a world without Titans sounded like paradise, but the boy spoke about it like it wasn't. Groaning softly, Levi nodded. "Get your jacket changed and cloak on. We're heading to the new HQ."_

" _Ah," was his reply, before Levi held up a finger._

" _One thing before we leave…" he said._

" _What?" asked Mika._

" _Help be put this up there," ordered Levi, pointing to Mika's Trainee outfit._

* * *

 **Back to reality**

Mika would be lying if he said that he didn't smile slightly when Levi requested he help him place the Trainee uniform up top. It was almost enough to make him pity him.

Anyways, aside from that, Mika did consider telling those who he now worked with about his history. According to Nac, telling others about your past would help strengthen relationships. And a stronger relationship would most likely improve their ability to work together.

I mean, that worked for Mika and Orga. So who's to say that it wouldn't work for the Survey Corps.

As he thought about relationships, Mika's mind eventually strayed towards Nac, Mina and Annie by accident. It was probably thanks to his loyal mentality which made him think of them, one of the few things he disliked as he felt that worrying for a person made him weak.

But he did worry for the three of them, forgetting about the 'if you care, you're weak' mentality as he did care for them. A small part of him hoped that they transferred to the Garrison, or in Annie's case the MPB, as those were the occupations which had the least risks. But something in his gut told him that they were not going to go that route.

Hell, before the Battle for Trost, Mina and Nac already told him that they intended to join the Corps.

Perhaps it was time he told them about himself. Only if they became Corps anyways.

* * *

 **At night, after the looooong cleaning session which took nearly 8 hours**

Sitting on the chest unit of Barbatos, Mika looked up at the Cresent Moon above him. The Elites, along with Eren, were in their own little space within the mess hall of the base. He would join them, but he didn't feel like being with them at the moment, mainly because he was thinking about what he would tell Mina, Nac and Annie when they next met.

And also, he liked the view. The large round orb in the sky was something he was especially fond of.

Suddenly, a woman popped up from the chest unit of Barbatos, making Mika flinch a tiny bit and snap out of his slight 'moon induced trance', but he honestly couldn't be surprised at the fact that she was here. Major Hanji Zoe, the leading… 'scientist', in the loosest sense of the word, of the Survey Corps.

"Hi! I'm-" began Hanji, apparently wanting to re-introduce herself.

"Hanji Zoe," cut off Mika. "You already told me."

"Yeah!" she replied enthusiastically. "But I was wondering if you remembered my name!"

"Why are you here…" asked Mika unenthusiastically, ignoring Hanji's excuse for re-introducing himself. And to his annoyance, the woman sat beside him on the chest unit.

"Well, I was wondering if I could check out the Barbatos!" exclaimed Hanji, making Mika flinch a tiny bit at her unusually high amount of enthusiasm. Turning to face the Gundam, she examined the head. "You know, as a scientist I live for these things!"

Looking at her, Mika had to fight the urge to kick her off the chest unit. Thankfully, he resisted the it and replaced the feeling with a sigh, knowing that the only way to shut her up was to show her the stuff. But he didn't feel like doing it now. mainly because the moon was extraordinary crescent today, and also because he wanted time to think.

"Just come back tomorrow, Hanji," he said as courteously as he could.

"Awh, but-"

On second thought, fuck it. Pulling back his leg, Mika sent it flying at her, kicking Hanji off the chest and the woman landed on the floor with a loud and cartoonish thud.

"Nice one," came an emotionless voice. Looking down, Mika saw Levi looking up at him. "I always wanted to kick her off Wall Rose. But I'd risk getting court martialed if I did."

Mika nodded as Gunther poked Hanji. As for Levi, she looked at Hanji. Bending down towards her, Levi told spectacles that Eren was free, and she immediately darted onto her feet as if she hasn't fell ten metres and ran straight into the room he was in.

Right as she went in, the other Elites exited. Most likely because they didn't want to hear Hanji yap on. When they got out, Olou looked up at the Gundam. "So this is the 'Gundam'? Doesn't look so tough."

"Mind your tongue, Olou," instructed Levi. "This Titan has reportedly taken out an unspecified amount of Titans, from 3-15 metres."

"So what?" gloated Olou. "We take down Titans all the time!"

"And according to the Trainees who fought alongside the Mobile Suit, it has taken out more than a hundred of them," replied Levi. He remembered speaking to Coral in an interview like fashion, and the nice guy reported how many the Gundam presumably took out.

It took out nearly thirty in the East side of Trost, fifty or so when it was escorting the Trainees, another thirty when it was outside of Wall Rose, twenty or so in the final stretch where Eren lifted the boulder.

In addition to that, it assisted in taking out nearly 85% of the Titans who remained in Trost. And if you were so inclined, it slaughtered a large amount of Titans during the Fall of Shiganshina.

And as a bonus, it saved several Trainees and Soldiers from death. The casualty rate of the Soldiers was reportedly lowered by 70-80% with the help of Mika.

"I think it looks beautiful," said Petra, looking up at the Barbatos who was as silent as the night and even more unmoving than the earth they stood on. "Almost like a knight."

"She's not wrong," agreed Gunther, walking over and placing a hand on the leg unit. "The White Armour and gold, blue and crimson colours are like the knights we see in books. And the people of Shiganshina did dub your… Mobile Suit a White Knight."

"Ah," was Mika's simple reply as, to him, such titles were meaningless. After all, the boy was a humble one.

"Oi," piped up Levi, making Team Levi and Mika turn to him. "Your Titan is filthy."

Looking to Barbatos, Mika admitted that it was rather dirty from five or more years of neglect.

The dirt build up on the white Nano Laminated Armor was rather frightening. And the dents/scratches from the fight between the Ein Graze and battles with multiple Titans made the Barbatos look less like the Knight it once looked like.

"Hai," replied Mika, not looking at him. Walking over to the arm unit of Barbatos, Eld noticed the white coloured and black bordered Tekkadan symbol tampographed onto the blue arm shield thing. It resembled a flower of sorts to him.

"Mikazuki?" he called up to him, making the boy in question look down at him. "What is this?"

Looking at the symbol, Mika stood up. Jumping onto the arm unit, he slid down to them. "That's the symbol of Tekkadan."

"Tekkadan?" questioned Eld. "Wasn't that…. Iron Blade…"

"Iron Flower," corrected Mika. "The Iron Flower that Never wilts."

"A noble name," admitted Levi, looking at the symbol.

* * *

 **The next day**

"Careful, Petra."

"Sorry!"

When they woke, the Elites were tasked to help Mika and Levi wash the Barbatos. And honestly,

it was a tough job. They would have commissioned Olou and Eren, but they were conspicuously gone for an unknown reason. How convenient.

The first thing they had to do was wait for Mika to stand it up, without breaking any part of the building. It only took a few seconds, so Levi didn't complain. Dressed in their cleaners attire, he held the rags as if they were his swords. "Let's get to work."

Holding a scrub, Eld stood on the crest of the Barbatos, scrubbing at the dust and grime built up on it. He did a nice job, even if some of the gold leaf paint was scratched off in the process.

Petra worked on the shoulder and chest units of the Gundam, scrubbing the leftover scratches and slight imprints of oil from the battle with the Graze Ein. She was a tiny bit curious about the cockpit, however. From what little she's seen of it, the seat looked comfy.

Levi worked on the arms, as did Mika, ridding the unit of the unidentified dirt particles which built up over time. Gunther was working on the crotch.

Once they were done, Petra and Eld worked on the leg units. Poor chaps needed help from Levi and Mika, who grappled beside them. But still, after three hours, or much more, their work was completed. And the Barbatos looked cleaner than it did in five or so years, if you ignored the scratches and dents from previous fights anyways.

"Mika," began Levi when he was scrubbing the Arm Motors of the Gundam. "Might I ask how old you are?"

"20 (I think…)" replied Mika.

"Unbelievable," whispered Levi spitefully. "I'm even shorter than a 20 year old."

* * *

 **Three hours later**

"That's more like it," muttered Levi, admiring the knightly MS. "Now for the weapons."

As the group grumbled at the thought of cleaning the weapons, Mika could've sworn he heard Hanji's voice. As a matter of fact, he remembered Hanji talking last night.

 _'That crazy woman…'_

Suddenly, a Survey Corp burst through the door, and ran straight for Hanji. His worried look made Petra a tiny bit antsy. Something bad must've went wrong if a Survey Corp inside the walls was worried.

"Major Hanji!" he exclaimed, running into the room Hanji and a half asleep Eren were in. "Both the Titans were killed!"

Hearing this, and after Hanji stole their fastest horse and rode off, Mika was about to grapple up to the cockpit, but Levi stopped the guy. "Don't. If you use that outside, you could very well start a panic."

Nodding, Mika looked to the horses. He never used one in action before, though he was trained for it. Looking back at Levi, the shorter man gave a nod.

* * *

Riding towards the designated area where the Titans Hanji captured, the group saw smoke rise from the area. When she saw it, Major Hanji rode forward at an exceptional speed, leaving the others in the dust.

"SAWNEY! BEAN!" exclaimed glasses, kneeling down in front of two dissolving shapes. While she bawled her eyes out, Mika stayed at the side alongside Levi. From what little he knew, Sawney and Bean were Titans they captured from Trost.

"I'm going to guess that those two were very valuable?" questioned Mika.

"Yeah. According to a guard, both were killed before sunrise," replied shorty. "The culprit escaped using the 3D Maneuver Gear."

"I see…" replied Mika as Hanji lost her mind at the loss of Sawney and Bean. Her death schriek was too much for Mika, so he left the area quickly

"Mika," came a man's voice. Turning, Mika saw Petra and Eld running towards him, apparently just arriving to the place. "What happened?"

"Someone killed the two Titans captured from Trost," explained Mika. "And Hanji is sad."

"Poor Major Hanji…" muttered Petra as Hanji let out another primal screech of sadness which could be compared to a sad ape. "There's gotta be a way to make her happy…"

When she said that, the trio went silent as Hanji went on with her weeping. But something blank in her head after some time. "Guys! I have an idea!"

"Really? Well, spill it, Petra," said Eld, crossing his arms.

Opening her mouth, she was about to say, but Mika shut her up. "No. That maniac will not touch Barbatos."

"Aw, but Mika!" whined Petra, giving Mika her puppy dog eyes, a technique which has made Mika cave in a few times, mainly thanks to Mina's overuse of it. "She's sad!"

"It doesn't concern me, Petra," replied Mika, face still a blank slate, though his insides were getting a little tangled up thanks to the eyes.

"It does! What if she gets depressed from this?" shot Petra. "If she does, she might not think her plans out! And if that doesn't happen, then her group may get wiped out!"

"That doesn't…" started Mika, before he stopped and thought about it. From his past experiences with Major Hanji, she has always seemed to get depressed when something didn't go her way. And when someone offered her something she'd like, she would immediately cheer up. "I suppose…"

Smiling from ear to ear, Petra gave a happy cheer and gave a fistpump.

"Now, go wait for the crowd to dissipate, then ask her!"

"Ah," replied Mika, sounding unhappy about this.

* * *

 **An hour later**

Still kneeling there, Major Hanji Zoe was still crying the soldiers a river. Or ocean if you're so inclined. Mika was hesitant to approach her, considering fact that she was known to bite people who talked to her when she was mad. And also because it's Hanji. She was the more annoying one.

But still, it was either this or they'd get flooded by Hanji's tears. And according to Nac, who told him during their Trainee days, she has indeed flooded her room in the Survey Corp HQ a year prior.

Tapping her shoulder, Mika jerked his head back to avoid getting smacked by Hanji's ponytail.

"What is it?!"

"Major Hanji," started Mika having to literally force the words out of his mouth. "Would you... like to have a look at the Barbatos?"

In a few split seconds, Hanji's expression went from sad to shocked to happy to delighted. Leaping onto her feet, Hanji smiled widely, completely forgetting about her two Titan buddies.

"YES. YES I DO!"

Slightly taken aback by her outburst, Mika sighed and walked towards his horse. Hanji zipped past him and jumped straight onto her horse. Seeing her run their way, Petra and Eld smiled a little between each other.

"Let's go!" exclaimed Hanji, kicking her horse and sending them zipping forward, leaving her three juniors in the dust. When the dust settled, Levi's squad looked at the woman, eyes wide.

"What's with her...?" asked Gunther.

"It's nothing," replied Mika as his horsey trotted forward. "This is gonna be a long day…"

* * *

 **Thus begins the road to the Female Titan Arc. Now! The next chapter shall be uploaded ASAP. It's gonna be Hanji doing her usual thing of messing with Barbatos, so I'll get it up ASAP to make up for this weird chapter, and also because I actually really wanna write a Hanji chapter.**

 **So yes! Hope y'all enjoyed and please review. I'm honestly waiting for the one 'kil urself' review or a 5 paragraph review about how much this sucks. Well jokes on them. I know this sucks. HAH.**

 **But anyways, have a nice day~**


	14. What needs to be done

"When's the last time the shaft was replaced?" asked a male Garrison, a question directed at our beloved Sasha Blouse.

"Six days ago, after Operation Clean Up," replied Sasha.

"She checks out," confirmed the female Garry, prompting the dude beside her to call out for the next in line, the endlessly adorable (and short) Krista Lenz of the 42nd Squad. "We're inspecting your gear."

Currently, the soldiers were looking for the culprit who killed the two captured Titans from Operation Clean Up, named Sawney and Bean, a rather clever choice of names, if you ask me. The Trainees were first to be searched, standing in groups of three while waiting.

"So…" muttered a Trainee waiting in line. "We can be punished for killing a Titan too?"

"As strange as it sounds, those were valuable specimens," replied a fellow Trainee.

"Even so, why are they searching us?" asked his possible pal. "Shouldn't they be interrogating that Mika kid, or Eren?"

"Point taken, everyone's exhausted from cleaning up the battlefield until today…" agreed the other dude.

As the two of them discussed trivial matters, our four pals, Mylius, Nac, Mina and Annie, stood on their own. Mylius, Nac and Mina stood silently on their own trio area, with two of the three contemplating what they knew about Mika now, while Annie stood beside Armin and Connie on her own.

"The culprit must've really hated those Titans," piped up Connie, catching Armin's attention.

"Yeah…" agreed Arlert. "But in this case, they pretty much helped the Titans out. Their lust for revenge may have been sated, but mankind will suffer for it."

"Well, I'm an idiot, so I think I get it," muttered Connie. "Before I saw a Titan, I seriously planned to enlist into the Survey Corps. But now, I'm not sure… and today's the day we have to decide, too."

As he said those words, the bald Saitama kid diverted his gaze to Jean and noticed that his fist was clenched tightly, making Connie grimace.

 _'He's seriously going to do it…"_

* * *

 **Hours ago**

Standing before a few fire pits in the middle of the night, the soldiers of Trost, or more specifically the Trainees, looked into the blazing yellow embers sadly, flames which were fueled by the corpses of their former comrades.

Among those mourning for the dead were out four friends, though Nac took it the hardest, with two streams of tears flowing down from his eyes. On a normal day, others would consider him weak, but other, stronger Trainees were shedding their tears as well, pained by the loss of those they considered friends.

However, the one who seemed to be taking it the hardest was Jean, who was over by the side.

'Everyone's regretting it,' thought the boy. 'If I'd known this would happen, I wouldn't have become a soldier. And now that I've burnt ourselves out, it's all I can think of.'

With that thought done, the boy stepped towards the flames. Kneeling down, he picked up a few of the ashes of the burnt bones and looked at them. "Hey, Marco…" muttered Jean, his voice soft and solemn. "I can't tell which of these are your bones anymore…"

'If I hadn't become a soldier, I wouldn't have to worry about who'd die next…" thought Jean, remembering the time the Titan Shifter Eren yelled in the mess hall nearly four weeks ago.

The boy had sprite, he'd give him that. The way he yelled about not wanting to let all the sacrificed souls who lost their lives trying to retake Maria to die in vain.

'I get it… I know we have to fight,' continued Jean's mind. 'But… still… not everyone can be a reckless imbecile like you… Hell, none of us have that… thing which Mika uses…'

Sighing, Jean looked down, deep in despair. But in his flying mind, he seemed to hear something, or someone. And, probably because of the ashy fumes produced by the boney flames, Jean swore he heard Marco's voice.

'You might get mad,' said the voice of his ol' freckled voice, making Jean turn to the side to see none other than Marco, who was probably there just cuz. 'But listen. You're not a strong person, but that means that you can sympathize with the feelings of the weak. Nevertheless, you excel at looking at things objectively (unless it's Mikasa), so you have a clear idea of what needs to be done.'

When the slight hallucination (I'd call it a vision, but that'd be a little much) was done, Jean's eyes got serious as he clenched the ashes in his hand. Standing, he looked into the burning embers given to him by his fallen comrades.

"What… needs to be done…" muttered Jean, voice shaky as he spoke. "Hey, you guys…"

Turning to face him, the Trainees who could hear him gave him their attention and were surprised that Jean looked as traumatized as he did. Hell, Nac forgot about the others for a second and wondered if Jean was sick from the fumes, though only for a second.

"Do you know where you're going to enlist…?" asked Jean, making those who heard him to quirk their brows up. "Well, I do."

Shakily, Kirstein gripped his wrist, trying to stop it from shaking in fear as he forced himself to say the name. Behind him, Connie stopped his weeping and stared at Jean in surprise.

"I… I… I'm… enlisting in the Survey Corps!" exclaimed Jean, his words sounding forced.

* * *

 **Back to reality**

'I guess he is…' thought Connie as the flashback ended. Closing his eyes, Springer diverted his gaze to Annie.

"What about you, Annie?" he asked, though he didn't get any response. "Annie?"

Curiously, both Armin and Connie slightly turned their heads over to face Annie, and they saw that she wasn't even acknowledging them. In fact, her gaze was directed towards her two friends. Mina in particular.

The blonde seem worried about her, and it was easy to see why. The two were relatively close in terms of friendship, and the look on her face would make anyone who considered her a friend feel bad.

'It has gotta be something related to Mika…' thought Armin as Mina got her gear checked up. 'The four of them are friends after all…'

* * *

 **Hours later**

After several hours of checking their gear, the Trainees of Trost now stood in the administration center (I dunno what it's called… gimme a hand ples? :3), the place where their future roles in the military would be chosen.

In the far side of the center stood, as usual, our three friends. Mylius was with Tom and Carly (remember them?), whom he got rather acquainted with after the Struggle for Trost.

Anyhoo, while the trio spoke between each other, our main trio stood on their own, with Annie leaning against the wall, Nac standing and Mina sitting and hugging her knees, silent and pondering, all because of one revelation.

After a long while of silence, Nac finally broke it. "... what do you think he's doing?" he asked blandly, a rare thing for him. "Mika…"

"I don't know," replied Mina, not looking at her friend as she hugged her knees tighter, her eyes uncharacteristically devoid of life. After she replied, the trio went silent again, before Mina piped up. "What would Mika want us to do?"

"What do you mean?" asked Nac.

"Do you think Mika would want us to join the Survey Corps?" asked Mina. "Or something else?"

When she asked, Nac diverted his attention up to the sky, the place where their longtime friend came from. "Knowing Mika, I'd say that he'd want us to join the Garrison, or in your case," said Nac, turning to Annie. "The MPB. Mika always did want us to stay safe… and out of danger."

"Yeah, but should we be listening to him?" asked Mina, standing up. "I mean, Mika has always wanted us to stay safe, but what about his safety? For all we know, that… Barbatos thing can malfunction at any time. If it does, who'll keep him safe?"

"... the Survey Corps?" said Nac.

"I doubt he'll share anything on the Barbatos with them," said Mina, crossing her arms. "Besides, Mika's the one who kept us safe during the Trainee days. I think it's time to return the favor."

"Does that mean that you're…" muttered Annie, sounding a tiny bit baffled.

"Yeah… I'm joining the Survey Corps!" announced Mina, raising her fist into the air. "If Mika's gonna risk his life for us… then I'll do the same!"

Blinking at her in surprise, Nac felt his eyes water a little. Closing them, the boy nodded. He did owe Mika after all… but was he willing to put his life on the line to repay him? Gritting his teeth, the teen felt the answer come to him instantly.

If he joined the Survey Corps, he would have a chance to possibly retake Maria and avenge those who fell trying to do so. At the chance of dying, of course. But Mika was willing to risk his life for him, Hell he could have abandoned them but he instead chose to stay to help, so what would stop him from doing the same?

"I… I'm with you, Mina," said Nac, opening his eyes with the faintest hint of a smile. "I wanna keep an eye on that kid."

"Well, what about you, Ann?" asked Mina, turning to her blonde headed friend.

"... I'm sorry, you two…," apologised Annie, and both Mina and Nac realized where she was going before she even said it. "But I'm heading for the Military Police Brigade…"

When she said that, both Mina and Nac looked down sadly, primarily Nac as he really wanted to have the old gang back together when they went out. But still, he could understand. Annie was in the top 10, after all. So why waste this chance?

"We understand, Annie," he said with a sad smile as he laid his hand on her shoulder. "Good luck in the Brigade…"

"Thanks…" replied Ann before a Garrison walked up.

"Everyone!" exclaimed the Garry, making everyone look at him. "Gather in front of the stage!"

* * *

 **A couple of hours later**

Looking up into the sky, Mina saw that the sun had set, leaving behind the beautiful celestial being (hehehe…) called the moon. Smiling up at the beautiful orb, Mina was only brought out of that trance when Nac nudged her.

"Look alive, Mina…" suggested Nac as a man walked up on stage. And before he even got on, they knew who he was. The blonde hair and Trademarked Eyebrows of Freedom were an obvious answer. Over by the sidelines were Hanji, Mike and three others.

'Erwin Smith…' thought Mina as the commander of the Survey/Recon (for the sake of simplicity, I'll call it Survey from here on out). And after he cleared his throat, Erwin got straight to business.

"I am Erwin Smith," he introduced, standing tall and proud before his fellow soldiers. "The commander of the Survey Corps. Today, you shall decide on where you will enlist as a soldier of the Walls. And to be blunt, I am here to recruit soldiers willing to join the Survey Corps.

"I'm sure the latest Titan attack has made you fear the Titans and recognize the limits of your strength. However, through the battle, mankind has made unprecedented progress in its struggle. The keys were Eren Jaeger and Mikazuki Augus.

"Eren's willingness to risk his life for mankind and Mikazuki's eagerness to throw away his own life to keep every one of you safe signifies their unquestionable allegiance to us. Furthermore, not only did both of them allow us to stop the Titans, but Eren has also provided us a way to unveil the Titans' mystery!"

And that statement made many in the crowd flinch in shock.

"In the basement of his home within the Shiganshina District lies the secret of the Titans, unknown even to him," continued Erwin. "If we can just reach that basement, we might find a clue that will aid us i overthrowing the Titans' century long rule!"

When that paragraph left his lips, many Trainees gasped in shock, surprised that Eren meant that much.

"But to end that," continued Erwin, again. "The recapture of Wall Maria is crucial. In other words, our goal has not changed. But now that Trost District's gate is unusable…"

As he said that, Mike and a Female Survey Corp (which may be Petra… it's pretty hard to tell) held up a map of the Walls to help emphasise Erwin's point.

"...we will have to go around from the Karanese District in the East."

And admittedly, Mina did feel the hairs on her back stand up when she heard the name of the District she used to live in.

"The military route we spent four years to prepare has been rendered useless," continued Erwin. "During those four years, we lost more than 60% of our men. 60% in four years… it is an absurd figure.

"Those of you who join us will participate in an expedition a month from now, in which the mortality rate is predicted to be less than twenty-five. Most of you will likely die in the next four years… even with the help of our new assets. However, if you manage to survive, you will be an Elite soldier who can be relied upon when faced with overwhelming odds."

With the dead rate announced, Erwin closed his eyes to let the gravity of the situation sink into his subjects. And after a good minute, he opened them.

"If you are still willing to endanger your lives with us, remain here," he instructed. "Please, ask yourselves… are you capable of offering your lives to mankind?!"

And that sudden volume shift caused many who haven't felt the gravity of the situation feel it intensely.

"Those who wish to enlist elsewhere may leave…" finished Erwin as a Survey Corp approached Erwin from the side.

"Commander…" he said, sounding a little fearful. And who wouldn't? Erwin's Survey Corp Commando for a reason, after all. "Don't you think you went too far? You might have scared them off…"

And at his word, several Trainees turned on their heels to leave. Among them was Annie, who spared Mina and Nac one last look, one which told them to reconsider. But the look she got in return made her flinch.

It was an expression which told her what they intended to do. And with one final nod, Annie went on her way.

As the masses evacuated the area, double timed might I add, the few who stood their ground had dark looks on their faces.

Glancing at her friend, Mina gave Nac a look which told him that he could leave as well, but he simply shook his head and gave her a look which told her that he was standing his ground.

'We already know…' thought Mina. 'Where we're gonna go…'

And finally, after only a few minutes, the area was filled with less than 10% of the Trainees who survived the Struggle for Trost. Among them, Nac recognised Mylius, Tom, Reiner, Bertolt, Connie, Sasha, and Ymir. Though they were the ones he saw. There could very well be much more.

"Would you die if given the order to?" asked Erwin bluntly.

"We…" began a Trainee, making some glance at him. "We don't want to die!"

"I see…" muttered Erwin, finally smiling, if only for a second. "I like your expressions. Now then, I accept all of you that remain as new Survey Corp soldiers! This will be a true salute!

"Offer your lives!"

With those words said, Erwin moved his fist to his head, and the other would-be Corps mirroed the motion.

"Sir!"

Though after that, several of them were quickly regretting this decision.

"You have all done a good job suppressing your fear," congratulated Erwin. "Every one of you is a brave soldier.

"You have my deepest respect."

* * *

 **Ah yes… this took a while. If you don't know… ah who cares. I basically edited this chapter. That's all. See you in the next one.**


	15. Many questions, but not much answers

**So I went to rewrite this cuz why not. Ave a nice read.**

* * *

After Hanji broke through the door thanks to her Kawaii powas, she stood on point, eyes on the Barbatos, glistening with predatory interest.

After two seconds, Mika came riding up behind her, and right when he stepped off the horse he was on, Hanji zoomed up towards him.

"What took you so long?!" she exclaimed.

"It was only two seconds…" replied Mika, giving her an annoyed look.

"Whatever!" exclaimed Hanji before she rushed off towards the Barbatos as the S.O.S trotted in. Giving him a pitiful expression, Eld whispered to him as Team Levi went to get some tools to clean the broken door up.

"Good luck, Junior," he said as he went passed Mika. The boy nodded dryly before turning back to the woman who named herself Hanji, who was now groping the waist pipes of the Barbatos. If the thing had feelings, the Barbatos would most likely feel very, _very_ uncomfortable.

"Hey, Mika!" exclaimed Hanji, making Augus and Team Levi to look at her thanks to her loudness. "Are we gonna talk? You said that we were gonna!"

Groaning in annoyance, Mika reluctantly nodded and stomped towards where the Barbatos knelt at, with Hanji who was somehow on the very tippy top of the Barbatos' head crest (the white part on the forehead).

Once Augus was in close proximity, Hanji leapt off the unit and somehow landed on her feet despite the 10 metre drop. After a dramatic show of dusting her uniform, Hanji propped up her glasses and placed her hand on her hips. "Alright, let's begin with the basics!"

"Basics?" questioned Mika, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, technically, we're supposed to introduce ourselves… but we've done that already. So, let's just skip to the juicy stuff!" proclaimed Hanji, sounding more excited than a child on Christmas morning.

"Juicy stuff?" echoed Mika, not liking where this was going.

"Well, for starters, I'd like to see your Alaya Vijnana system!" announced Hanji, smiling like a psychopath with a star in her eye. That look made Mika get a shiver up his spine, a larger one than usual.

The last thing he wanted to do was to let Hanji Zoe touching his Alaya Vijnana system. Knowing Hanji, she'd probably grope the things like no tomorrow. But still, he had no real choice but to play along as he didn't want the lady to go into a depressed state again.

Well, he kinda did want that to happen, but he heard that when she got depressed, she'd not be like herself and they'd have to leave her behind for a mission, and that made the Survey Corps lose half their numbers on the 22nd expedition.

And he wouldn't want that to happen if Nac, Mina or Annie joined the Corps. Emphasis on if, as he didn't know that they signed up. But seeing as Mika prefered to prepare for the future, at least he learnt to do so after he got to this place, he decided to just play along to avoid the possible problem.

So, with a heavy sigh, he nodded and pulled the Survey Corp jacket off him and exposed them muscles on his arms, causing Hanji to turn slightly red, though she didn't react like most and turn away, seeing as she was here for the AV-system, not tight muscles.

Besides, she had Levi for the muscle part.

After a few seconds of contemplating, Mika groaned and turned around, convinced that she wouldn't go away, giving her a full view of the AV-system without the dome attached. And she began squealing like a stereotypical anime schoolgirl.

"Can I touch them?!" asked Hanji, her tone causing Mika to shiver a tad. Gritting his teeth, Mika hesitantly nodded before quickly feeling Hanji's fingers wrap around his organic implants.

I just realize how sexual that sounded.

Sliding her fingers between the gaps of his three spinal units, Hanji touched the thing with the enthusiasm of a boy finding out that he got a hundred out of a hundred in a test. As for Mika, he found this to be the most uncomfortable thing he's been through in years. Scratch that, this was the most uncomfortable thing he's been through **EVER**.

And it took everything Mika could muster to not pistol whack Hanji in the head before unloading the entire clip into her skull. Though he was _really_ tempted at multiple points.

Finally, after fifteen agonizing minutes, Hanji finally let go, writing into a notebook she fished out from… somewhere.

"Alright… I got the basic shape in," clarified Hanji with a smile as she wrote it down.

"Are we done…" grumbled Mika, quickly putting his jacket back on before she even _tried_ to touch his system again.

"Well, with the physical stuff," replied Hanji, smiling as Mika gave a soft sigh of relief. "But of course, I still got some questions!"

"... what are they…" grumbled Mika, wanting this to end as quick as possible.

"First of all…" began Hanji, smiling as she twirled her pen in her grip. "How did you come to get this… Alaya Vijnana system? Are those from where you come from born with it naturally? Or do you get it through puberty?"

"I got it through surgery," answered Mika, prompting Hanji to give the 'surprised look' she was known to use.

"Surgery?" echoed Hanji, writing it down as she asked. " What… kind of surgery? It usually works, right?"

"No," replied Mika flatly. "It's dangerous. If the surgery fails, you either die or become bedridden for the rest of your life. But if you survive, you survive."

"...oh…" muttered Hanji as her smile faded. As she let the thought sink in, Mika turned his head back and spotted Team Levi cleaning up the mess Hanji made out of the poor door to their HQ.

Though the boy couldn't help but notice that they seemed to listening in on their conversation. And by conversation, he meant that he was forced to speak to this woman.

"But… why would you take such a dangerous surgery if you run the risk of becoming a vegetable or possible death?" asked Hanji, a little wary of the answer.

"The reason is obvious," replied Mika flatly, prompting Levi's ears to perk up. "The world is not all sunshine and and rainbows. It's a cruel and dangerous place. A place where only the strong can survive. Something I found out the hard way"

"I see…" muttered Hanji, looking down. "Do… all of you guys have three spines or something?"

"No," replied Mika, scratching the back of his head. "It's usually one…"

"Right…" muttered Hanji, before the sound of a lightbolt shattering rang inside her head, prompting her to slowly turn and look at him. "Hold up… you're saying that…?!"

"I've taken the surgery three times," confirmed Miika, prompting Hanji to drop her notebook and grab Mika tightly by the arms, slightly surprising Mika, while shocking the members of Team Levi.

"THREE TIMES?!" proclaimed Hanji with wide, bespectacled eyes. "ARE YOU INSANE?! YOU SAID THAT IF IT FAILED, YOU'D BE PERMANENTLY BEDRIDDEN OR EVEN DEAD?!"

"...so?" asked Mika, feeling uncomfortable at the _extremely_ little distance between Hanji's face and his. Though his answer seemed to rile Hanji up even more, and even surprised Levi a little at how casual he was, even despite Hanji talking about how he could have died.

"Heichou?" spoke up Petra as Hanji began yelling some stuff about Mika not caring about life. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, Petra," assured Levi, not taking his eyes off Augus. "It's just that…"

"Does your life not matter to you?!" demanded Hanji, her tone even louder and no longer her normal enthusiastic self. "Hundreds of Survey Corps die every year unwillingly, but why are you willing to throw away yours when you live in a world which is free?!"

"You think my world is free?" asked Mika, his gaze darkening and tone slowly turning aggressive.

"Well… yeah…" replied Hanji, scratching the back of her head. "I mean… a world without Titans is what we all dream of. Many of us Corps always envisioned it as paradise."

"Where I come from," said Mika, turning to face the _ASW-G-08 Gundam Barbatos_ , his gaze turning from dark to sad as he closed his eyes. "Is anything but paradise."

"And… why is that?" asked Hanji, before she felt something drop on her head. And contrary to what you'd think, it wasn't bird shit. It was a drop of water. Glancing up, she watched as several more pellets of rainwater dropped onto her glasses, smudging it with every drop. As for Mika, he only adjusted his jacket as the rain dropped onto his hair.

"Oi, Mikazuki, Hanji," called out Gunther, his hands cupped around his mouth, prompting them to turn towards the right and spot the man who was standing in front of the cafeteria/mess hall/whatever you wanna call it with Petra beside him. "If you're gonna converse, at least do it in here."

Smiling, Hanji nodded before she jogged towards the shaded area, with Mika following her. Once the two were in the shade, Gunther and Petra made their way to where Levi, Olou and Eld sat at. Knowing that Levi wouldn't want her to sit by him, Hanji forcefully dragged Mika over to the sides, much to his annoyance.

Thankfully for him, Levi spoke out.

"Oi, Devil," grumbled Levi, glaring at her as she turned to face him, with Mika doing the same, just cuz. Blinking, Hanji pointed to herself, and Levi grumbled softly. " _Devil_ ,"

"Me?" asked Mika flatly, pointing to himself, prompting Levi to nod.

"We'd like to ask you a few questions," said Levi, with Petra and Eld nodding in agreement.

"Oh?" said Hanji, clapping her hands in excitement. "Never thought that _you_ would do something which I'd do."

"Shut it, Hanji," grumbled Levi as Mika shuffled over to him with Zoe jogging after him. Once he was close to the shorter man, Levi scanned the boy before nodding. "Have a seat, kid."

Blinking in surprise, Hanji watched as Mika scratched the back of his head before claiming the empty spot in front of Levi. With a smile, Petra took the spot beside Augus, giving him a warm smile which he didn't return, cuz he'z Mika. in fact, the unintentionally cold gaze Mika gave her scared the ginger haired lady a tad bit.

Once Petra got over it, Eld and Gunther took their seats beside Levi, with Olou claiming the empty space beside Petra, mainly because he wanted to keep something between him and the _Devil of Tekkadan_. But also cuz he liked Petra. Don't deny it, he likes her.

As for Hanji, she stood behind Mika awkwardly, waiting for Levi to allow her to join. And the man knew that she **wanted** to be here and wouldn't take no for an answer, so with a heavy sigh, he gave a subtle nod, prompting a large smile to form on her face as she slammed her butt down onto the empty space beside Mika.

After the ensuing tremor caused by Hanji slowly subsided, the mess Hall, as I'd call it, was eerily quiet. Even Olou kept his trap shut out of fear that the devil in the room would kill him. As for Levi and Mika, the two simply glared at one another, with Levi trying to figure out what song Mika was singing (it's a metaphor. Don't take it seriously) and Mika wondering what Levi wanted.

Finally, after a long while of silence, a clap of thunder broke the spell. Turning their heads to the exit, Petra and Eld watched as pellets of rain dropped onto the ground and the Barbatos.

"Hey, kid," started Eld, eyes not leaving the Barbatos. "Is that thing gonna rust or something?"

"No," replied Mika, not looking at Eld. "Barbatos has weathered heavier storms than this."

"Really?" asked a surprised Eld. "I mean, there aren't any Titans in your place, right? I'd think that these things wouldn't be used much."

"You'd be surprised at how much we use them," muttered Mika, eyes not leaving Levi. "Why did you call me over?"

"Well, for starters," replied Levi. "I'm curious. Ever since you got here, none of us could figure out who you were. Sure, you had the proper ID papers and stuff, but they were made weeks after the Fall of Maria. But aside from that, there was no proper identification for you, no history."

"But why're you even askin, Levi?" asked Hanji. "I mean, we all know that Mika is from some other planet."

"Shut it four eyes," grumbled Levi. "I was getting to that part," Levi rested his head in his hands. "Since we now know why you have no history here, Petra suggested that we all sit down and take a moment to speak to each other."

Blinking, Mika turned to his side and saw Petra, who was smiling warmly as she gave him a 'peace' sign (basically the two finger pose which you use when getting your photo taken), which did surprise him a little as not many people would do something like that. But he quickly dismissed it and nodded.

"Sure," replied Mika, turning back to Levi, who was, once again, surprised that he answered so quickly. As though he read (pronounced reh-d this time) his mind, Mika continued. "There's no reason to keep it a secret anymore. You know about Barbatos, after all."

Nodding, the short man decided to get some tea first, standing up to prepare some as the others watched in amusement.

While he was preping the cups of Black Tea, Eld studied Mika closely. Aside from those weird black things near his eyes, he saw that Mika was not one bit nervous. His muscles weren't tense and his face was blank, the total opposite if someone would sit with them.

"So…" muttered Eld after he examined him. "... nice weather we're having, don't ya think?"

Looking out, Olou quickly looked back with a face which said; ' _are you serious, Eld?'_

As for Mika, however, the boy nodded. "Ah… nice weather," was his reply, and it sounded oddly wholehearted.

After that was said, they stayed quiet, with Hanji occasionally smiling at Mika, who promptly ignored it.

And finally, Levi returned with a tray of six cups of Black Tea. Passing it around, the other Survey Corps willingly took their cups, with Hanji taking one for Mika, who reluctantly took it.

"So," began Levi, before he took a sip of his tea. As he did, Mika took a quick stare down into his cup, looking at the black liquid inside. "Tell us about yourself, freak."

Opening her mouth, Petra began to tell him off for his manners. But Mika could give less of a fuck, simply taking a sip of his tea as Petra grumbled at him. The thing was rather sweet, but he's tasted better. Take Atra's cooking, if you will.

"There…" began Mika, making Petra and the others to turn to face him. "... is nothing worth talking about."

With a raised eyebrow, Levi was about to end this conversation quickly, though Hanji spoke out before he could.

"Nonsense," said Hanji, looking at Augus with an encouraging smile. "Everyone has a story, Mika!"

"I… just don't want to tell it," replied Mika. The reason was a little awkward for him as it was connected to his new friends.

Ever since meeting them, Mika's stone cold personality did admittedly crack a lot during their time together. Because of this, he was able to socialize more and retake some of his old emotions, such as guilt and humanity. Things which were mostly forgotten by him.

Thanks to that, Mika eventually got a tiny bit guilty of his previous actions in his life, actions like shooting Crank Zent (remember him?) lingered with him quite a bit.

As if he read his mind, Eld placed his cup down. "Mikazuki Augus," he said, catching their attention. "It doesn't matter how your story _starts_. What matters is how you _continue_ it."

When he heard that, Mika looked down into his cup, staring at his reflection. And after a while, he looked back up with a few slow nods. "What do you want to know…"

"Well," answered Levi, getting straight to the point. "I'd like to know about this… Tekkadan."

When he asked, Mika went silent, thinking of a proper way to describe it. "Well… we weren't always called Tekkadan."

Raising her eyebrows, Hanji flipped open her notebook and began writing. "What do you mean?"

"Years ago… we were a Military group called _CGS_ ," continued Mika, indirectly replying to Hanji.

"CG...S?" asked Eld, raising his brow.

"Ah…" confirmed Mika his grip on his cup tightening a tiny bit. "CGS was made up of three groups… I was part of the Third. The First Group was full of adults… the final two are formed from children."

"Wait one second…" muttered Olou, loud enough that the others could hear him, and a few of them were a little surprised that he'd speak to Augus. "You're telling us that your world has… child soldiers?"

"Why does that surprise you?" asked Mika coldly. "Mina, Nac and Annie were recruited into the Trainee Corps before they were even 18."

"He has a point," said Hanji, scribbling out an image of Mika holding a gun for some fun. "We always seem to bring in kids. What's with that?"

"Don't ask, Hanji," grumbled Levi, looking back at Mika. "I'm to assume that the entirety of CGS became Tekkadan?"

"No," answered Augus. "Only groups two and three."

"Then, what happened to the first?" asked Gunther.

And they swore that Mika smile a very tiny bit.

"We eliminated most of them," was their answer. Upon hearing that, Petra and Hanji's eyes widened, and even Olou, Eld Gunther and Levi flinched a tad.

"...why?" asked Eld. "I mean… they were innocents, aren't they?"

"CGS was far from innocent, Eld," pointed out Mika coldly. "The First core was cold towards everyone of us. For every little mistake, we were punished severely. And most of the time, the punishments are things I don't want to speak of."

While Olou and Petra had no idea what he meant, the others did. He was talking about raaaaaaaa… not gonna say it.

"And when we got rid of them, we felt much happier than we were for years," finished Mika.

"Do tell," muttered Gunther. Once he finished, the room became rather silent, only broken by Hanji's writing.

"Could… you tell us about the Tekkadan members?" asked Petra, breaking the silence.

When she asked, Mika looked down into his cup, and Petra swore she saw his eye sparkle a little before he took a sip.

"Sure."

And after he agreed to that, Mika spent the next hour to speak about the members of Tekkadan. From the leader, Orga Itsuka, to the newcomers, Aston.

Levi admittedly took an interest in Orga, the man Mika considered his 'brother'. He spoke about him highly and had an odd glimmer in his eyes as he did.

Petra, on the other hand, took an interest in Atra. Not only did she sound adorable, which she was, but she also saw that Mika spoke about her in a rather subtle dreamy tone, as if he _liked_ her. Despite that, she kept that thought to herself.

Eld, being the second in command, took an instant liking to the boy (now man), Eugene. The way Mika described him gave Eld a rough picture of what the dude was like. A proper second in command who took charge of situations if needed.

Gunther did find the main man, Space Guts… erm… I mean, Akihiro to be an interesting man. According to Augus, he was once part of a family who owned a business until some 'pirates' or whatever plundered their booty (hehehe). And after many jobs, he ended up in the CGS 2nd group.

Olou, being the man he was, took an interest in Merribit, for reasons which I'd let you think of.

And finally, Hanji took an interest in multiple members. Mainly Old Man Yuki, the main engineer of Tekkadan himself. She'd give an arm and a leg just to meet him and learn more about a Mobile Suit. Well… not really. Even she had self-preservation skills.

Also, she found Ride Mass, Takaki Uno and Yamagi Gilmerton to be adorable (and can you really blame her?).

"You have some interesting friends," said Hanji, scribbling down the description of Chad and Dante with a smile.

"They're amazing," replied Mika with a half smile, a rare thing for him. And to add on, it looked very sincere.

"But I couldn't help but realize one thing," continued Hanji. "You spoke of the dude called Orga quite highly."

"Orga…" replied Mika, his smile growing a little. "Is the reason I'm here… he is the reason why we became Tekkadan."

"You must really look up to him a lot, Mika," said Petra with a warm smile.

"Ah…" muttered Mika. "Orga was the one who gave me hope when I was out of it... and he was the one I really cared for."

"But Keith did tell us that you were seen most often with Trainees Mina Carolina, Nac Tias and Annie Leonhart," pointed out Eld. "Almost like you guys are friends."

"We are…" replied Mika. "I guess when you tend to forget about older friends when you're far away from them…"

With that said, the room got rather silent, with most of the Corps feeling sympathetic for him. Losing so many friends at his age would have been hard. And not knowing if they were alive or dead would have been worse.

"You have a valid point," said Levi, sounding less cold than usual. For every little info he got on Augus, Levi found himself more interested in him. In an odd way, the two were similar to each other. Children who grew up in the slums and became the 'ace fighters' of their respective groups.

"Hey, Heichou," started Gunther, rubbing his chin as his team looked at him. Mika didn't as he was in the middle of sipping his tea. "I was wondering… would the other Corps fear the Barbatos less if it had a Survey Corp emblem?"

When Gunther suggested that, Levi looked into his cup thoughtfully. Perhaps an emblem which signified Mikazuki/the Barbatos' allegiance would make the other Survey Corps fear it… less.

"That would work," said Levi.

"We have some Survey Corp templates in storage," informed Petra. "We'll get them tomorrow."

"Understood," said Levi as the rain became heavier. But he didn't seem to notice, simply looking at their cups. "Anyone else want seconds?"

And everyone nodded, apparently liking that tea.

* * *

 **EDITTTTTTTED ON 25/07/2017**


	16. New blood

**Not much ta say, except have a nice read**

 **One day after Mika joined the Survey Corp**

* * *

"Welcome to the Survey Corp HQ."

After Commando Coral led on the SC-HQ, on horseback might I add, the newbies looked up at the structure, easily spotting the massive castle like structure before them. It held an air of regalness, and seemed like it was more for a king then an army.

While most Corps looked at it in awe, Mina and Nac shared a little smile, knowing that someone was probably waiting for them. Though unbeknownst to them, he didn't even know that they were joining.

Trotting in on his horse, Commander Coral was immediately shadowed by a massive 10 metre structure. Following him, the recruits saw what did so, and a few of them gasped.

"That's…" muttered Reiner, eyes wide and mouth agape.

"Gundam…" finished a random Corp.

Kneeling before them was the Titan that assisted in the recapture of Trost, the ASW-G-08, Gundam Barbatos. It's left arm was on the floor, while the other was raised up near its chest/cockpit which was rotated down (IE, the cockpit is open).

And, to their surprise, multiple Garrison soldiers were on the thing. They were on the chest, arm and head units. With… paintbrushes in their hands.

"Coral?" came a female voice, making the new Corps and Coral himself to turn and spot a female Garrison who wore a brown scarf atop her Garry uniform, which was atop an undershirt which looked like Annie's. She also had a large nest of medium length grey hair. In her arms were a couple of templates.

"Flex?" was Coral's reply as he dismounted and jogged towards her, ignoring the questioning looks the rookies gave him. Once he was in front of the girl… well… woman I guess, Coral shook her hand firmly. "It's been too long, Flexy!"

"Aye, it has been," agreed Flex, smiling.

"But still… why're you here anyways?" asked Coral, crossing his arms. Looking past him, Flex eyed the Barbatos, where several of her friends were already setting up a few buckets of paint.

"Well, yesterday Petra met me in the Garrison HQ," answered Flex, readjusting her grip on the templates. "She said that the S.O.S wanted to get some Survey Corp emblems onto the Barbatos. I gladly volunteered, alongside some of my friends."

Looking over his shoulder, Coral spotted several other people he knew, which wasn't too many. People such as Zen and Nova were recognizable, though the one with the fluffy black hair and girl who had a yellow raincoat around her neck like a cape.

"I'm gonna guess that these are the new blood?" asked Flex, shifting her hip to the side and resting her hand on it, making a few of the younger newbies blush.

"Fresh from the battle of Trost," confirmed Coral, smiling. "They've seen the real shit and most of them fought alongside the Gundam Barbatos."

"Well, I'm impressed," admitted Flex, smirking. As Coral and Flex finished their talking, Mina suddenly shot her hand up, getting her attention. "Heh, you got a question, kid?"

"I… I do!" exclaimed Mina, making Flex smile.

"I like her sprite," whispered Flex to Coral. "Alright, shoot!"

"Where's… Mika and Team Levi?" asked Mina, her voice sounding a little off to Nac, though he dismissed it as he knew why. Didn't stop him from smiling ever so slightly.

"Oh, the kid and Team Levi are out training," replied Flex with a smile. "The Training grounds where you guy's were at, anyways."

"Oh…" muttered Mina, looking down. "For how long?"

"No clue kid," replied Flex as she walked by, waving the smaller girl away. "But have fun as a Corp. See ya."

After Flex left the group, Coral began to lead the group away. Looking to his friend, Nac saw that Mina was downer than usual. Though who could blame her? I mean, he knew her feelings for the boy.

"Hey, don't worry, Mina," assured Nac, smiling at her. "Mika and Team Levi has to come back soon."

"I hope so…" replied Mina. "I really do…"

* * *

 **Four days ago**

After four days of Survey Corp training… well… more or less mental training in Scouting Formations or more advanced ways to down a Titan.

And during these four days, there were no traces of Mikazuki Augus. Not even a peep. They only saw Team Levi, but no Mika. Whenever anyone asked about the pilot, Levi would reply the same.

"We don't know," would be their normal reply, though those who asked could tell that their reply was a lie.

It would usually get mixed reactions from the soldiers/rookie Corps. Mikasa would often be too worried about Eren to care. Connie and Sasha seemed to be fine with that as it confirmed that the Barbatos would not come to life (though Sasha still hid behind Jean every time they were supposed to be walking by it).

Armin and Mylius did wonder why the boy was pretty much missing for so long, though they didn't really ask. And obviously, both Mina and Nac were the most worried. Part of them wondered if Zackley found out a way to use the Gundam and got rid of Mika. Well, Mina was the one who thought that most, leaving Nac to try and keep her hopes up.

And finally, at the end of day four, they finally saw the boy they were wondering about.

After a particularly tiring Maneuver Gear session, the Survey Corp rookies, plus senior, returned and entered the mess hall (which is what I call the cafeteria thing in the SC HQ). and unfortunately they still had some formation lessons.

Though their way to the classroom (sort of), the group had to go through the mess hall. And on their way through, the juniors spotted three other Corps sitting in the place.

Two of the three were part of the S.O.S, Eld and Petra. But the last one got a few mixed reactions, and made Mina crack her first genuine smile in days.

With his black hair and brilliant blue eyes, topped off by a Survey Corp jacket, the boy looked almost as Mina and Nac remembered, except the jacket. That one was new.

From what the juniors saw, they walked in on a slight conversation. Eld and Petra simply looked at them, though Mika seemed to be looking for something. And when he locked onto Nac and Mina, he admittedly flinched a little, a motion Mina completely missed and Nac just barely caught.

As for Eld and Petra, they saw it clear as day. Probably thanks to either their developed senses, thanks to years of being Corps, or because they were so close to him. And they did see some subtle signs of panic, such as his subtly shaking hand as he took a sip of tea.

Finally, after a painfully quiet minute, Eld decided to break the silence by asking Mika a question, and not continuing to ask him about how stuff was with Hanji.

And believe me, stuff was rough with her.

"Mikazuki?" started Eld, grabbing the boy's attention. And the stare he got sent shivers up his spine.

"Hm?" muttered Mika, pulling on his jacket.

"You seem a little…" continued Eld, seeing if he could find the right word to describe him right now. "Tense. Ya know, under the weather."

"I do?" asked Mika, his tone sounding less like the stone cold killer and more like a curious child. Raising his hand up, he scratched his head. "I feel normal."

"Mika…" said Petra with some concern in her voice, which did surprise Eld a tad. "You can tell us… we promise we won't tell anyone."

"Yeah," agreed Eld, quickly getting over that small amount of surprise. "Besides, we do this all the time… at least I do anyways. Nothing we hear will leave our lips. Even if the junior (or senior on certain occasions) die…"

After he said that, Eld went silent and allowed Mika to decide if he was willing to tell. Glancing between the two, he saw no real hint of lies or alternate intent, either in their body language or the look in their eyes.

So, with a short sigh, he nodded. "It's… Mina and Nac. I'm worried about them," he said, extremely straightforward.

When he said that, the two Elite Elites raised their brows a tad, with Petra's raised higher than Eld's. They were obviously surprised that he was worried about… well… anyone!

In the past few days of being with him, the two Elites had the idea of Mika being a cold hearted boy who didn't give much of a fuck about others. So those words, those few simple words of ' _I'm worried about them'_ sparked a large flame of shock inside them.

After they shook off the shock, and after Mika took a sip of his tea, Petra spoke up. "...why?" she asked, sounding partly curious and partly shocked.

"They're friends," replied Mika, which shocked the two, _again_ , as he didn't seem to be the type to have friends. "The only ones who really care about me in this place…"

"But why are you worried anyways?" asked Eld without thinking. And that stare Mika gave him made him realize his slight blunder, prompting him to quickly catch his mistake. "I mean… of course anyone would be worried about a friend in the Corps. But they'll be getting training after all…"

"Eld," said Mika as he glanced at him. "It doesn't matter how trained they are. One mistake will cost them their lives…"

Looking at Petra, he saw that she seemed to agree with him. Even the best of the best in the Corps wouldn't last more than a few years (unless you're Erwin, Keith, Levi or Hanji… or anyone of the main cast). And newbies would usually die in their first excursion outside, mainly because of their immaturity or overconfidence.

Though he had a feeling that the new batch of Corps wouldn't be that overconfident as they went through some actual combat. And much less so for Nac and Mina, as they were known to be rather humble, at least when compared to than others (IE Reiner or Ymir, for instance).

"We get how you feel," muttered Petra, smiling a little sadly. "Back in our younger days, many of our friends died during their expeditions… it's unavoidable."

When she said that, Mika somehow looked even madder than before, making Petra continue.

"B-But… there may be a way to… increase their survival rate," said the woman, making Mika look at her, a tad hopeful. After she said that, Petra glanced out, out at the _ASW-G-08_. "Your Gundam. Currently it's the strongest weapon in our arsenal, strong enough to repel any Titan who gets in our way."

"But still…" added Eld. "We don't know where you will be posted in our formation. But you'll most likely be part of the middle group. Juniors are most likely to be in the Vanguard (the outer rim, which is something Mika already knew)."

After he uttered those words, he felt Mika's glare. It told him to stop talking, or some bad stuff would happen. That glare made Eld freeze in fear, prompting Petra to speak up.

"W-Well… actually," said Petra, scratching her head. "Me and Eld are part of Team Levi… we're a high ranking team too…"

"So?" asked Mika, unimpressed.

"Well… we could probably arrange for you to be part of Mina and Nac's team, and for them to be in the same squadron," continued Petra, smiling crookedly. When she said that, Mika looked down into his cup and nodded.

"That… would be nice," admitted Mika, glancing at her. At first she flinched, but she eventually noticed that his eyes seemed… different. Sure, they still looked icy cold, but less so. Almost… thankful. And happy, if you will. But after some time, the look faded, replaced by his usual look. "But still…"

"What is it now, Augus?" asked Eld.

"I don't know if they trust me anymore…" muttered Mika, the uncharacteristic tone of sadness creeping into his voice. "After all the secrets I kept from them."

Looking at each other, Eld and Petra were, admittedly, stumped at how to reply. But an idea popped into Petra's head, causing her to snap her fingers and get the other two's attentions.

"Well, I've kept some secrets from my friends when I was still a Trainee," said Petra, making Eld nod sheepishly. "When word got out that I had secrets, I told my friends about them. And they didn't seem to be too mad after I did…"

"Do…" said Mika, tapping his chin. "I just have to tell them?"

"... guess so…" said Eld, shrugging dramatically. "What else can you do, anyways?"

With those words said, Mika nodded and looked up and between the two, who gave encouraging smiles.

"Don't forget, Mika," piped up Eld, an index finger held up. "A person's part doesn't always matter. What _does_ matter, however, is what you do in the future."

Once he heard those words, Mika looked down into his cup and did something which left the Elite Corps slacked jawed.

He _smiled_.

Though it was a simple gesture which consisted of him curving the sides of his lips upwards, the two were still shocked to _see_ him smile, as, in their few days with him, he has yet to crack a single smile or even move his lips upwards, making them believe that he couldn't make any other facial movement other than a frown. So this sight thoroughly surprised them.

And Petra did, admittedly, find his smile to be… to put it lightly… cute. So much so that her cheeks got a tad red. Noticing that, both of the boys (or if you wanna be specific, Mika is technically a man (20) in the story. And Eld's a man too if we're honest) asked her if she was alright, making her shake her hands around, embarrassed.

"O-Of course!" proclaimed Petra, glowing much redder. While Mika was wondering what kind of magic spell was cast on her, Eld gave a knowing smirk. Petra seemed to notice and glared at him, prompting him to chuckle a tad, making Mika more confused.

"Alright, well, classes end in about two hours," said Eld, standing. "Go think about what you'd say to both Mina and Nac. We'll give you space."

When he said that, both him and Petra went off to leave him alone to think, with Petra holding back the urge to strangle him.

Back with Augus, he wasn't really thinking about what he'd say to Mina and Nac. Being the straightforward boy he was, he'd just tell them the truth about himself, and whatever else they wanted.

He was more or less hoping that Petra, or even Eld, could convince either Erwin or Levi, and maybe Hanji, to assign him to whatever squad Mina and Nac were in.

If they managed it, somehow, Mika would be more inclined to show them some respect.

After a short while, the boy heard the bell chime, signaling that their… 'class' was over. By the side, the juniors were flooding into the place. They were rather carefree and all, but it pretty much evaporated when they spotted Mika.

Well, not everyone's enthusiasm evaporated. Mina and Nac were smiling even wider than before as they approached the kid (not really kid, honestly).

And with a deep sigh, Mika stood up and walked towards them to greet his friends.

* * *

 **So this took longer than usual. I edited this entire thing! It went from the conversation between Petra and Mika at the top and the conclusion of this arc to being the opposite, if we're honest.**

 **And if you haven't guessed, the next (edited) chapter will be what the author envisions Mika's backstory. Hopefully I don't butcher his character.**

 **Hopefully.**

 **Anyways have a nice day. Bah :v**


	17. My past

**Yes, this is a chapter concerning Mika's backstory.**

 **It way get a little spicy. But hey, it's my iteration of his past. If it's different from yours, well… sorry?**

 **Anyways, enjoy :3**

* * *

"MIKAZUKI!"

Those were the first words he heard from Mina in about, a week or so?

If he were honest, he thought Mina and Nac would resent him, primarily because he piloted the Barbatos, and partly because he kept a big secret from his supposed best friends in this place.

But those thoughts were dispelled when Mina shouted his name and gave him a tackle hug which sent him onto his back. As she gave him her cuddles, Nac walked up to the pair as the other juniors watched in shock, and the few seniors watch in amusement.

' _Ah…_ _amor joven…'_ thought Sys as he leaned against the doorframe which led to the exit of the mess hall. As he did, he didn't notice Team Levi, plus Hanji, walk up behind him until the leader himself tapped his shoulder. "Sí?"

"Sys, what's going on?" asked Levi, face blank but eyes looking amused as Nac helped Mika get Mina off him. And behind him, Petra and Hanji waved at the spanish man, smiling.

"I do not know," replied Sys, waving back as he smiled. Raising his brow, Levi nodded as the rest of his team glanced at Mina scratching the back of her head and apologizing to Mika, who readily forgave her.

"What a child," muttered Olou, shaking his head. "Definitely not fit to be a soldier."

"Don't judge a book by it's cover, Olou," warned Gunther in a stern tone. "Mina may act like a child, but she is among the few who befriended the pilot. And she is also a rather competent fighter."

"Right right…" grumbled Olou, turning back to the juniors, who were slowly dispersing, but Mika and his two pals were still standing there, with Mika looking a lot down-er than usual.

* * *

 **Back with the two Ms and one N**

"What's wrong…?" asked Mina once she noticed Mika's slightly down look. While others wouldn't notice (like, at all because he always looks the same, cold and angry), Mina and Nac, and to this extent, Annie since she was a friend who stayed with him as long as the other two have.

"I just don't get it," said Mika, no longer sounding like how he used to. Instead of the emotionless tone both Nac and Mina had gotten used to (well, mainly thanks to Mika _and_ Annie, since the two spoke emotionlessly, though the former does so more than the latter), he sounded like a confused child. "I thought you two would hate me for keeping all this a secret…"

Glancing between each other, Mina gaze Nac a slightly surprised look, and vice versa. Mika was never really the type to be worried about anything, with the only time he was worried being when Mina swung straight into a tree during their Trainee days. And even then, it was rare enough that they didn't really notice it.

"Well…" started Nac, coughing. "We would be at least _a little_ mad, but you stayed behind… for _us_. When you could leave, you chose not to, because you thought we'd die. Tell me dude, how can we hate someone who does that?"

When he said that, Mika seemed to brighten up, with subtle hints of surprise and relief creeping into his usual stoic, blank face. And after a short while, a smile, something which was rare even for his newer friends. And it never failed to make Mina blush every time.

"Thank you," said Mika, looking between them.

"No prob, Mika," said Nac, giving a two fingered salute. "What friends are for, eh?"

"Ah," muttered Mika. After that was a short while of silence.

"But still…" continued Nac, rubbing his chin. "We'd still like to know more about you. You've probably kept more secrets than…" glancing out, he eyed the Barbatos. "...that."

Turning to face it, Mika simply nodded and sat down on the nearby table. Mina and Nac did the same.

"What do you want to know?" asked Mika, and Mina spoke out first.

"What's your real name?" she asked, making Mika and Nac get that classic round, white eyed look.

"...Mikazuki Augus," said Mika after a while, and Mina nodded, apparently thinking that he used another identity here or something.

"Alright… onto some other questions," said Nac, before he stopped and noticed Mika glancing behind him. Doing the same, the pair saw that several Corps were lingering nearby, specifically Connie, Mylius, Jean and Armin (essentially, the entire main cast of S1 and some characters who are supposed to be dead stayed). Sasha stayed somewhat close by, though not as close as the others.

And as for Mikasa, she was off with Eren, whom she was _extremely_ glad to see again. While I'd say that Eren doesn't deserve someone like Mikasa because he's a cunt, Mikasa wants the kid. And who's to deny the Ackerman of what she wants? I'm not gonna try and separate them, not even in this story.

Hell, Mikasa would probably slice my head off if I did that (not really since she ain't real, but we need some exaggeration here so go with it).

"If you want, we can always move to a more private place to talk," suggested Nac after he turned back, and Mika replied with a subtle shrug.

"Doesn't matter to me," he said as Team Levi stalked in, earning the attention of many Corps, though they didn't really care about them as they sat in a neighboring table close to Mika, Mina and Nac's. "I don't care if someone else hears about my past. It's not like I can keep it a secret anymore, anyways."

"I guess so," said Mina, turning to the S.O.S, plus Hanji and Sys. The group, again, plus Hanji, for the most part, seemed to not care. Though Petra, Eld and Gunther could be seen glancing at Mika or his pals every now and then, Levi and Olou didn't seem to be listening, the only hints of them doing so being the occasional glance and ear twitch. And of course, Hanji was listening with full attention, a pen and her personal notebook in her grip. As for Sys, he just sat there quietly. "Anyhooooo… you were saying something, Nac?"

"Yeah… well," started Nac, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm sure most of us would like to know about _you_ specifically."

Opening his mouth, Mika was about reply with the same thing he told S.O.S, but a wary glance from Eld told him what he wanted to say.

' _It doesn't really matter how your story starts,'_ said Eld several fortnights ago. ' _What really matters is how you continue it.'_

Or something like that.

So, with a sigh, Mika nodded as Hanji smiled and got ready to write about stuff.

"What do you want to know?" asked Mika, making Mina and Nac smile.

"Well… we wanna know about your childhood!" said Mina, smiling. And it faltered when she realized how straightforward she was being. "Well, I mean… you did say that your home had no Titans. You must have an easier life than us, right?"

When she finished, Mika had to suppress a scoff. An easier life? Yeah, right.

Sure, Mika did have a _slightly_ better life, as he didn't have any Titans to worry about, but it was by no means easy. You see, being an orphaned child on Mars (at least during PD 323) was no laughing matter.

You lived life on the run and constantly hid from _them_.

Who, you ask? Well, it was none other than the _Human Debris_ traffickers. They were constantly on the prowl for orphaned children to kidnap and to sell to people in need of labourers

Or for some other reason I would rather not mention for the sake of the K rating.

Anyways, Mika was brought out of his trance-like state thanks to Nac, how waved a hand in front of his face. Shaking his head, he snapped back to reality and blank a few times.

"You alrai, Mika?" asked Nac curiously. "You blanked out for a sec there."

"I'm alright," assured Mika, earning himself a nod from Nac. "I just found it… funny that you said I had an easier life than you."

When Mika uttered the words 'funny', he got some mixed reactions. The juniors whom he Trained with were a little surprised as he was never known to find _anything_ remotely funny. But Nac, Mina, the S.O.S, Hanji and Sys seemed to know what he meant.

He meant that even in a world where Titans never existed, life would still be rough. "What," started Nac, who wanted to know more. "Do you exactly mean by that?"

"I mean that I'm not as lucky as any of you," stated Mika, glancing at each of the juniors and seniors. He knew that each of them had at least one family member with them at one point in their lives. "I never had the privilege of having an actual family."

Blinking in surprise, the Corps were confused for a second, with Hanji being the only one who understood.

"You're… an orphan?" she muttered, and nearly dropped her pen when Mika nodded. "We… you didn't tell us…!"

"I just didn't want to," grumbled Mika flatly, glaring at her. "It wasn't important anyways."

Nodding a little, Hanji looked back at her notebook as Mika adjusted his jacket. And after a short while of awkward silence, Mina piped up.

"How was life back then?" she asked, apparently taking some time to figure out how to word that question without possibly offending him. Though she apparently didn't know what you can't offend Mika. That kid's anger line must be unlimited… unless you try and kill someone he likes. You'd best run if he finds out.

Or don't. He'll find you eventually.

"It wasn't better than this," replied Mika, sounding oddly casual about that. "I'm an orphan, and orphans from Mars are often hunted down by Human Debris traffickers."

"Human… Debris?" asked Nac, raising his eyebrow as a few of the other Corps listened closer out of curiosity.

"Human Debris are child soldiers taken from their families or orphans who were taken off the streets," explained Mika to the best of his knowledge. Several years away from any real Human Debris did hamper his knowledge of stuff from his home, but he remembered the basics, which were enough for him. "They're usually sold off to military groups or organizations that need manpower."

When they heard that, the Corps got genuinely surprised and even angry. The S.O.S, Sys and Hanji thought that such an action as downright disgusting. Destroying a person's family or just simply taking away their freedom was not condoned by any of them.

As for the juniors, they thought is was despicable. Armin, however, wondered why the government of his place would allow such a thing to continue. Surely, destroying a family or a child's freedom was a crime, right?

But Jean seemed to be curious about one thing.

"Oi… Mikazuki?" came Jean's voice, and the boy diverted his gaze to him. That stare was a little intimidating, but he held a strong face. "Are… _you_ a Debris?"

"No," answered Mika simply. "But I remember times when I was nearly caught."

"...could you tell us?" asked Connie, making Nac, Mina and a few others glare at him. The influx of glares made Connie shrink down in terror. I mean, when the Special Operation Squad, Hanji, Sys, and your entire group of friends were glaring at you, you'd have all right to be scared. To be fair, it was somewhat justified, seeing as he asked a rather personal question.

But thankfully, he was saved by Mika.

"Sure," he said, looking out at the sunset. "We have plenty of time before you have to turn in."

With that said, Hanji readied her notebook as Mika began to tell them about his first brush with a Human Debris trafficker.

* * *

 _ **PD 314**_

 _In the darkness of a night on Mars, a young boy sprinted breathlessly through the streets of Chryse, trying to get away from a Debris trafficker._

 _Rounding a corner in an alleyway, the kid hid by it and started to catch his breath. Groaning softly, he peaked out and was relieved that the Trafficker has yet to catch up with him. Allowing himself a short while to rest, he slumped down until he was sitting._

 _The boy was less than one metre in height, probably because he was at the age of seven. He had blue eyes and a slightly oversized coat, with a baggy pair of pants (they were pants, but they looked like jeans on him)._

 _Currently, the kid had no real name. As long as he could remember, he had no identity, no family, no nothing._

 _But what he had was wits. The boy was like a stone wall. You couldn't break him that easily. That was how you survive on Mars, after all. Around these places, younger orphans always relied on stealing to get by. And when you get caught, you would probably face some beatings. The kid was caught multiple times and faced multiple beatings, but he always pulled through._

 _When they grew up, they would take up jobs. The most popular one so far was CGS, the Chryse Security Guard._

 _Groaning softly, the boy slowly stood up, feeling rested enough. However, as he did, the kid heard someone coming closer. Glancing to the side, the kid saw a rather dark corner and jogged towards it, hiding in the shadows as the man approached._

 _He was a tall bloke, a member of the Human Debris trafficker team who spotted the boy not too long ago. He apparently spotted easy prey when he saw the kid, so he went after him._

" _Come out now, boy," grumbled the man as he walked through the alley the kid hid in. He had a shaved head and a cruel smile on his face. "Come on out and I promise to take you in peacefully."_

 _The kid hated how tempting it sounded, but he heard this tactic before. The false charm, fake honey, to lure you in for the capture. It was something he learnt about when he witnessed other kids being carted off, the poor souls who trusted that tone and went with them._

 _While the kid was used to this, he did let some fear take over him. He felt his heart pump faster and faster as the man got closer, not seeing him in the shadows._

 _And eventually, the fear won out as he let out a very soft grunt, loud enough for the man to hear._

" _There ya are!" exclaimed the dude, whirling to where he hid and extending an arm. Driven by adrenaline, the blue eyed boy tried to maneuver around and sprint off, but was cut off when the man grabbed his jacket and pulled him back._

 _Though he did catch a glimpse of a boy with tanned skin and lilac hair who looked at him with wide eyes._

 _Grabbing him hard by the neck, the trafficker slammed the kid against the wall and smirked._

" _You're a strong lookin one'," admitted the man, smirking like a predator who caught his prey. "The others would really like ya."_

 _Keeping a stone cold expression, the child gritted his teeth as the man pulled out a cellphone to contact his higher ups._

' _So this is my destiny, huh?' thought the kid, feeling a tad fearful at what the future held for him. 'Guess it's better than dying, I guess…'_

 _But, as it turned out, it wasn't his destiny._

 _Accompanied by the sound of a loud_ _ **boom**_ _and a sound which resembled something shattering and meat tearing, the man's eyes widened immensely as his grip on the blue eyes child loosened._

 _And soon, he stopped breathing and dropped the child, who slouched against the wall he was against. Looking at the man who attempted to turn him into a Debris, the child noticed that he had a bloody hole on the back of his head._

" _You gonna just sit there?" came a new voice. It sounded rather calm, friendly even. Looking up, the blue eyed kid widened his eyes a tad when he saw that it was the same lilac haired boy he saw just a while ago. But now he saw that he was wearing similar clothes as him, with a pistol in his hand._

 _Plastered on his face was a gentle smile as he approached the child and extended his arm to help him up. Though he was a little on edge, the kid accepted it and was hauled onto his feet._

 _Once he was up, the newcomer kicked the body of the man he killed._

" _They all act like their tough," said the kid mockingly. "But they're all cowards at heart. That's why they choose kids to be their victims."_

 _Turning back, he apparently expected the blue eyed kid to reply, but he simply nodded._

" _Anyways, I'm guessing you're like me, huh?" asked the lilac haired kid. "And orphan and stuff?"_

 _The kid replied with a nod._

" _Heh," muttered the lilac haired kid, smiling. "Ya know, it's been awhile since I had some company. You got a home, or at least a shelter?"_

 _The blue eyed kid shook his head._

" _Well, if you're interested, you can come with me. I got a small shelter just down the street," said the lilac haired kid, smiling as he extended a hand out to him._

 _Looking at the newcomer, the blue eyed child saw no real ulterior motive, though he was a little on edge. Who could blame him, though? He just saw a man get killed, after all._

 _But still, the lilac haired kid seemed friendly. And an ally in this God forsaken place would be nice._

 _So, hesitantly, the child took his hand._

* * *

With round eyes, the Survey Corps stared at Mika in slight shock once he finished. Most of them did expect his life to be hard, but not _that_ hard.

Mina was actually rather thankful for the lilac haired boy who saved Mika. But still, she was curious as to who he was.

However, the one who was deepest in thought was, interestingly enough, Armin.

When Mika told them that he was an orphan, Armin thought he would be like Eren, Mikasa and himself, where he had his family killed in a totally not cliche way. But from how Mika described it, even _he_ doesn't know who his parents are. At the very least, Mikasa, Eren and himself knew how it felt to have a family, something Mika never felt.

"Mika…?" started Hanji, making Mika glare at her, but his gaze softened when he saw that she seemed sympathetic. "...was that… Orga?"

"Ah," confirmed Mika, making Nac widen his eyes.

"Wait… you told me about Orga!" he proclaimed. "You said he died during the Fall of Shiganshina!"

"It was a cover up," explained Mika. "I wanted to tell you about Orga, but wanted to hide the truth…"

Hearing that, Nac nodded a tad and scratched the back of his head as a few seconds of awkward silence washed by, though he was a little grateful that Mika at least told him about the man. Then Petre piped up, extremely quietly.

"What happened after that?" she asked very quietly, though Mika could hear it pretty clear.

"Well," continued Augus, glancing at her.

* * *

 _Rushing down the streets of Chryse, the lilac haired and blue eyed boys made good time in getting to the lilac haired kid's sanctuary._

 _When they got there, the blue eyed kid looked up at the place. It resembled a bombed up apartment, broken walls and all. But the lilac haired kid didn't seem to care about the top. Motioning for the blue eyed kid to follow, he jogged towards a small crack on the side of the place, though it was still covered up by some bricks behind the crack._

 _Ignoring it, the boy crouched near it and whistled softly. And after about two seconds, one of the bricks slid back, revealing a boy who was younger than them both._

" _Orga!" proclaimed the kid happily before he pushed the other bricks to the side. Once they were gone, the blue eyed boy saw that the one who greeted the lilac haired kid, or Orga as he was called, had ginger-ish hair and a smile on his face._

" _Yeah, I'm back, Ride," greeted Orga happily as he made his way into the crack. Once he was through, Orga looked up at the blue eyed kid, who seemed hesitant. "Don't worry, kid," assured Orga with a soft smile. "Come on in."_

 _Looking at Orga, the kid made sure that he had no ulterior motive before he crawled in. Once in, the kid called 'Ride' placed the bricks back up, effectively covering up where the crawlspace was._

 _Inside the place, the blue eyed kid looked around the area. It definitely wasn't roomy, but it was better than most places he's been in._

 _(in recent times, the kid who would eventually be called Mika lived in a busted up pipe)_

 _The entire room was illuminated by a single lightbulb hanging from the top of the ceiling. It looked old, but it worked so they didn't seem care. After a short while, the blue eyed kid eventually noticed several drawings on the walls._

 _Slowly walking over to one side, he placed a hand on a round picture. It was sprayed grey in front of a black backdrop._

" _So, what do you think of our humble abode?" asked Orga behind him, prompting the kid to turn around and see Orga and Ride smiling at him._

" _Orga, does he talk?" asked Ride curiously. Opening his mouth, Orga was about to reply, but the blue eyed kid replied for him._

" _Ah," he said in his young, not yet mature, voice as he looked around. "It's nice."_

" _Not till now," said Orga, smiling as he approached the kid, who seemed a little interested in the thing which they called 'the moon'. "So, you got a name?"_

" _No," replied the kid, simply, making Orga flinch. "Maybe I did. I just don't remember."_

" _Oh…" muttered Orga, before turning back to the picture of the moon. The kid seemed to be interested in it, making Orga rub his chin._

 _He remembered hearing that the moon was sometimes called the 'Mikadzuki'. And he also remembered hearing some people who were named after it, though not without the d in the middle. Specifically some sort of samurai back in the day._

 _And that caused him to snap his fingers._

" _What about this?" asked Orga as he suggested a name._

* * *

"So that's how you got your name?" asked a bewildered Mina as Mika nodded.

Still in slight shock, the Corps were chatting about how Mika was, essentially, nameless for nearly seven years. Even Ymir, who wasn't usually one to show pity, seemed a little sorry for the kid. Not having any food or family was bad, being hunted down was worse. But even if she didn't have either, at least she had a name.

"But… what about that time when you were an infant?" asked Gunther, rubbing his chin. "You must've had a foster parent or something, right?"

"I don't remember," admitted Mika. "And if I did, I don't remember the name they gave me."

"It makes sense," pointed out Hanji. "We don't really remember much of our infant days, after all."

"But still, this… Orga," said Jean behind them. "He was the one who gave you your name?"

"Ah," said Mika. "After he gave me that, he gave me a home… and friendship…" and they saw the rare sight of Mika smiling. "Introduced me to Yamagi and Takaki… we soon became inseparable."

Gazing at Mika, Nac noticed his slightly wistful gaze, which, next to his smile, made him look like any of them. A normal kid.

"He even gave me a couple of jobs," continued Mika. and when Mina asked what kind, Mika spoke of delivery boys (they were fired for putting the letters in the wrong place), painters (something Ride enjoyed), builders (didn't go well) or engineers (Yamagi and Takaki liked that shiz). "Good times."

"Sounds like it," agreed Nac with a smile, grateful that he at least had some good times back then.

"But they're always rainy days…" continued Mika, looking down.

"What kind of rainy days, mi amigo?" asked Sys, prompting Mika to continue his story, zipping us into IBO canon.

* * *

 _ **PD 315**_

 _Sprinting down the streets of Chryse, Mika, Orga, Takaki and Ride tried to outrun the Human Debris trafficker. It pretty much a normal thing for them, if we're honest. Human Debris traffickers are usually everywhere on Mars as the security for Martians (not actual ones) weren't too good._

 _Despite this, the group was surprisingly good at evading the traffickers, mainly thanks to Orga. The boy somehow remembered where the traffickers would usually go to when they went through Chryse._

 _In short, avoid anywhere with bars (the place which sell alcohol beverages), keep out of alleyways and avoid any kind of suspicious person (though that was something they already knew)._

 _Unfortunately for them, Ride accidentally knocked into some Human Debris trafficker while they were out getting some food, prompting them to run. Eventually, Orga suggested they split up to confuse the trafficker, a tactic which usually worked._

 _Usually they would split into twos, Orga/Mika and Ride/Takaki (on occasion it would be Ride/Yamagi or Takaki/Yamagi, but Yamagi did always prefer to stay at their 'home'). And that was basically what they did here._

 _And unfortunately for Team Mika/Orga, the trafficker tried to get after them. Though Orga was a little grateful for the trafficker diverting his attention from Ride/Takaki, he was still rightfully fearful of getting caught._

 _Mika, on the other hand, remained exceptionally calm despite the danger. It was something Orga and the younger trio got used._

 _After a couple of turns, the two got to another alley, cuz that's pretty common in Chryse. And unfortunately for Orga, he slipped on some water coming from a busted drain pipe._

" _Aurg…" grumbled Orga as he got up onto his feet. Stopping in his tracks, Mika was about to turn and help the boy, at least until the trafficker came up to them. And Mika had to give it to him, he wasn't one to give up._

 _Quickly getting to them, the dude gave a predatory smirk as he picked Orga up by the collar, not noting that Orga's pistol dropped out of his baggy child jacket._

" _Fresh meat," he said in a rather sadistic tone. "After a few weeks of stale ones."_

 _Yet before he could even gloat about this, the man was tackled by a small force. It wasn't hard, but it was enough to knock him back. Groaning, the dang trafficker was about to give Mika a piece of his mind, but before he could, he saw that Mika was now holding Orga's pistol, the barrel aimed at him._

 _And with a loud_ _ **boom**_ _, the man felt a hole in his chest as he slowly collapsed, lifeless._

 _Hit back by the recoil, Mika was sent flying onto his back, landing with a small cloud of dust._

 _Behind him, Orga widened his eyes as he watched Mika take his first life. And he was shocked when Mika turned to face him, with a relieved smile on his face._

" _What do I do now, Orga?" he asked as a thin blood line came down from his forehead._

* * *

"Wait… you're telling me…"

"Yes, Nac," replied Mika. "It was the first time I killed someone."

Blinking in shock, the Corps realized that this was the kind of life Mika was living.

Kill or be killed, they supposed.

Feeling deeply uncomfortable about knowing that one of her closest friends has killed, possibly multiple times, Mina decided to change the topic.

"During the court session, you said that you worked for this company called _Tekkadan_ ," said Mina, trying to sound curious. "Could… you tell us about it?"

"I'm still part of Tekkadan," said Mika, sounding wistful as his friends and peers, plus the S.O.S and both Sys and Hanji, gave him wary looks. "I never got rid of the jacket and Barbatos still has the symbols…"

Glancing out, Mika eyed the Tekkadan symbol on the Barbatos' arm 'shield' and allowed himself to crack a tiny smile. But it was quickly wiped off when he remembered his company's rather dark history.

"Something wrong, Mika?" asked Hanji from the other table, making Mika look at her. "Oh… right… CGS…"

"CGS?" asked Mina, and Mika gave her a run down on CGS. I would tell y'all about it again, but you already read it in the previous chapter (or previous-previous one) so I won't waste your time.

What I can tell you was that Mika went into more detail on what the First Core did to them, how they were tortured for the bigger mistakes, used as playthings or simply beaten for the simplest mistakes. And he got similar reactions from the Corps nearby.

Most of the juniors looked absolutely shocked, stunned or simply stared at Mika with widened eyes and slacked jaws. Jean, Reiner, Bertolt and Ymir looked much paler than usual as Mika described how Takaki was beaten for giving a member of the First Core a wrong sized piece of paper, obviously shocked at how these kids were punished for such minimal mistakes.

Connie, Krista and Armin were probably a shade (or maybe ten shades) paler, somehow. Connie found the lack of pity the First Core showed to the Second and Third, who were all children or at least young adults, to be absolutely disgusting. Hell, he's never really been mad at anyone before, but there was a first for everything, he supposed. As for Armin, he had an identical reaction to Jean. And Krista had her eyes wide and glassy, feeling a massive amount of empathy for _every_ one of the boys who were mistreated in CGS, because that's how she rolls.

Sasha, being the girl she was, vomited into a trash can when Mika told how a senior member of the First Core used a kid called Yamagi to pleasure himself. A fellow junior looked like he was about to when Mika got to that point.

Hell, even the Elite S.O.S (and if you're wondering, S.O.S stands for _**S**_ _pecial_ _ **O**_ _peration_ _ **S**_ _quad_ ) looked appalled at what Mika and his former peers been through. They already knew that Mika had it rough in CGS despite living in a Titan-free world, but they didn't think it was _this_ bad.

The new info even froze up Hanji, who dropped her pen and stared blankly at Mika. As for Sys, he was having a poker face while his mind invented many new Spanish and English cuss words to throw at the CGS First Core.

But for Nac and Mina, the two were a mix of all of the above. Nac felt a mix of anger, much more than anything he's ever felt in the past, and pity. More so anger, if he was being honest. But for Mina, she was livid. In their five years together, Mina has admittedly gotten (very) attached to Mika, so hearing that he and his old teammates were used like that… by those… _animals_ … it made her blood boil even more than ever before.

"Mikazuki…" said Mina through grit teeth, her hand balled into a fist and resting on the table. Looking at her, Mika was a little surprised to see Mina looking a mad, a dark shadow over her eyes. "Don't tell me that these… _monsters_ are running your company…"

"It's what they would have wanted," said Mika, reaching into his jacket. While Nac wondered if he was reaching for a raisin, and Mina felt like she was about to explode, Mika searched his jacket till' he held onto a cold object. Pulling it out, the room saw that it was the pistol. The same one which he threw at Pastor Nick. And, a few of them realized, possibly the one he used to take his first life.

And those words made Mina lighten up. "Well… what happened to them then?"

Glancing at her, Mika began to tell…

* * *

 _PD 323_

 _Standing outside a room in CGS, Mikazuki Augus leaned against the cold, steel walls of the structure._

 _Currently, the CGS Second and Third groups were gathering the bodies of the First Group and dumping them into the room he was outside of._

 _If he were to be honest, it was a rather brilliant plan. Several hours ago, the chump called Biscuit Griffon gave the First Core their lunch/dinner/whatever they eat. Little did the First Core know that their meals were spiked with sleep agents designed to make a guy snore within a few hours._

 _Sure, a few hours was not too long. But this was Mars, you probably couldn't find anything faster than that. Besides, they were out, and their hands were tied together with… whatever they used._

 _Over by the side, Third Corp junior Takaki came waltzing by, dragging the last of the First Core members to the room. Looking to Mika, Takaki gave a nod._

" _We're all loaded up, Mr Mikazuki," informed Takaki, and Mika replied with a nod._

" _Let's wait for them to wake," said Mika, reaching into his CGS jacket and pulling out his pistol._

 _It wasn't anything spectacular, just a plain ol' gun. But it had sentimental value to him as he has had the thing for years, and he used it to take his first life._

" _I'll go fetch Orga," said Takaki, and Mika nodded before turning to see some of the First Core waking up._

" _Ah."_

 _ **A few minutes later**_

 _Groaning a tad, Haeda Gunnel, leader of the CGS First Group slowly regained consciousness from his… 'soup induced nap' as I call it. Yet, when he woke, he found a few differences. He was on the floor, for one. And his hands were bound in an odd way which I can't really escribe properly._

 _Widening his eyes, Haeda looked behind him and spotted the other members of the First Core, all with hands bound and with miserable or furious looks on their faces._

" _What's… what's going on?!" exclaimed Haeda, clearly angry, but at the same time, he was still secretly frightened._

 _And with that said, the door in front of him opened, and in came… Orga Itsuka, flanked by Eugene Seven Stark, Mikazuki Augus, Norba Shino and Biscuit Griffon._

" _Good morning," greeted Orga coldly. "How did the meal with the sedatives taste?"_

 _And for once, Orga had a cocky smirk on his face._

" _Sedatives?!" exclaimed a First Core member._

" _You brats… what the fuck are you doing?!" demanded Haeda._

" _Well, I just wanted to make some things clear," said Orga. "Who's number one around here._

" _What?!" came the same First Core dude._

" _You bastards… who do you think you're dealing with?!" exclaimed Haeda._

" _I do know," replied Orga as he approached Haeda. "We are dealing with incompetents who can't give proper orders and caused this much damage and bloodshed._

" _Don't fool with me!" exclaimed Haeda as he spat at Orga's feet, the spit landing in front of his feet. In response, Itsuka pulled his foot back and kicked him in the arm. "Alright… I got it…" grumble Haeda. At first, Orga thought he was about to do something reasonable. But, ya know, he's Haeda. He's a dumbass._

 _So instead of a proper apology, he went with this._

" _Just take these off… and I'll spare your lives," he said._

" _What?" asked Orga, sounding a tad baffled that he had the audacity to ask such a thing. "Don't you understand the situation you're currently in? Who's the one in command right now? You? Or_ _ **me**_ _?"_

 _And Orga ignored the death glare he got from Haeda as he continued. "Due to your incompetant command, our comrades died needlessly. And you will have to pay for that…"_

" _Huh?!" proclaimed Haeda in shock. "Wait… what?!"_

 _And those were the last words he ever said before Mika unloaded a bullet into his skull. Many of the First Cores were shocked that Mika would murder anyone without a second thought, or even a straight face, but they didn't know Mika._

 _They didn't know how many lives they took in his younger days._

" _Now…" said Orga, unfazed by the life his friend took. "CGS belongs to us. But, we will give you some decisions. You can either keep working under us Space Rats, or get out of here."_

" _Darn you…" exclaimed a First Core, getting up and attempting to tackle one of them, only to be put down by a double tap courtesy of Mika. once again, the First Core were shocked by how willingly Mikazuki gunned downed the man._

" _Or, if you don't want either, we can end it right here, like how we ended him," said Orga, adding an option 3._

" _E-Excuse me…" came a soft and scared voice, making the Third Corps turn to see Dexter Culastor. "I… I would like to leave…"_

 _At first Orga was about to signal for Mika to lower his pistol and let Dexter off, seeing as Dexter wasn't too bad towards them (at least he tried to help the kids on multiple occasions), but Biscuit spoke up._

" _You're Dexter Culastor… in charge of accounting, right?" asked the chubby boy. "We're going to have you to stay a bit."_

" _W-What?"_

* * *

"So… what happened to that Dexter guy?" asked a curious Eld.

"He became our bank manager or something…" muttered Mika. "I don't really remember."

"What do you think of the guy, anyways?" asked Nac. "You spoke of Haeda in an angry tone… but not Dexter."

"Mr Dexter isn't a bad man," admitted Mika. "He's friendlier than most. Occasionally, he'll help out some of us… though he isn't a courageous type."

"Makes sense," muttered Connie. "He does sound like a nerd."

"So… what else happens?" asked Ymir, her hands on her hips. Raising his eyebrow, Mika shrugged at that. While he didn't really remember much of what happened after that, he knew enough to at least tell them.

"Well…"

* * *

 **Hours later, midnight. And no, I am not going to try and stuff the entire IBO S1 anime in one chapter. This is Mika's past, not his adventures in S1**

"And that's how I got here…" finished Mika as Hanji wrote the last of the words into her notebook.

Over the course of nearly _**five hours**_ (?!), Mika told the Survey Corps in the room about everything he could remember about his adventures through _Iron Blooded Orphans Season 1_ , with the Corps asking minimal questions, 50% of which came from Hanji anyways.

Once he was finally done, the Corps, who were still awake, began discussing about where he came from.

Mina didn't really like any other person in particular. Though she did feel a tad (very) jealous about Atra's relationship with Mika. and of course… his kiss with Kudelia _definitely_ didn't rile her up. But aside from that, she was impressed with what Mika managed to accomplish. Dodging a Man Rodi's axe while in smoke, effectively using the Barbatos while it wore a large black thing on it's chest or even adapting extremely quickly to Earth's gravity even though he grew up in a word where the G's were much lower (I think). Even so, Mina would be lying if Mika's level of brutality didn't scare her.

Nac did feel the same, though he did take interest in some other people. He found Biscuit to be a nice fellow, looking out for his sisters, Cookie and Cracker Griffons, while at the same time watching out for his comrades. That thought was backed up by how he died, saving Orga. and besides, he was avenged.

(play clip of Mika slamming Carta's Ritter down to prove my point)

As for the other Corps, they were speaking mainly about the harem king himself, Naze Turbine. They sounded envious of the man, who had an entire bloody ship of wives. Most of them spoke about Lafter or Eco, who Mika spoke of most. But they, mainly the S.O.S, noticed that Mika's seemed to be a tad shaky every time he spoke about Lafter or another woman/girl called Azee, which made them presume that they were either K.I.A or their fates were ambiguous to him.

Reiner found himself feeling envious of, not Naze, but Akihiro. From what Augus said, the teen (or man, depending on how ya see Aki, has accomplished feats well above what he could do. Bertolt, on the other hand, thought that Kudelia was a nice lady. She certainly had Tekkadan's best interests in heart, and from what Mika said, she 'stopped a battle with just her voice'.

Krista found herself taking a liking to Ms Merribit. Unlike most others, she was actually 100% in it just to keep the kids safe. And with Krista being Krista, she felt like she should probably be more like her. As for Ymir, she found herself liking Azee, Lafter and Amida a ton. Sure, Naze was the 'captain', but they were his crew, and sometimes the crew is cooler than the cap' (least' to Ymir, anyways). And seeing as how the three of them gave both Mikazuki and Akihiro a run for their money in their first battle, with Lafter doing it on her own might I add, they demanded some serious respect.

Jean, oddly enough, took a liking to Eugene. He seemed like a competent leader. Hell, in his eyes, more so than him. Least he could use his AV system to pilot **two** ships at once. Connie felt himself gravitating towards Shino thanks to his sense of humor. I mean, someone who put goofy eyes on their MS had to have a decent sense of humor.

And finally, Sasha definitely liked Atra... for obvious reasons (chef).

Anyways, once the long ass story time was over, Mina let out a yawn, which made Sys realize that it was waaaaay past bedtime. So, turning to his cadets, the Spanish man told them to go get some shut eye. Some protested, but others were too sleepy to do so.

As for Mina, she ended up falling asleep, and she looked adorable, even to Mika. More so than Kudelia, but less than Atra. Cuz Atra is his waifu, **forever**.

Standing, the other Corps walked off to bed while Mika and his pals, plus the S.O.S and Hanji, stayed behind.

"Well, tomorrow's another day of training," said Nac sleepily as he tried to keep his eyes open. "Best if we turned in."

"Ah," said Mika, getting off his chair. Looking down at Mina, she saw that she was still asleep, and suddenly, he and the S.O.S and Hanji heard a slight bang. Turning, they saw Nac, apparently fallen asleep and resting his head on the table. Huffing, Mika couldn't help but let out a quick chuckle.

"You need some help, Augus?" asked Eld.

"No," said Mika before he picked his friends up. He slung Nac over his left shoulder while he cradled Mina in his right arm. It seemed stressful to the others, but Mika didn't find it to be the least bit tiring to do so. "Goodnight."

"Yeah… goodnight," replied the seniors in the place as Mika brought the two up to the sleeping quarters. Once he was gone, Hanji turned to face Levi.

"He's an interesting one, ain't he?" asked Hanji, smiling. "With interesting friends and enemies…"

"Yeah… that Gali Gali guy seems to be quite a nuisance though," said Eld sarcastically.

"What about that Ein guy?" asked Olou. "His sprite is commendable, but he's a little naive. Guess that's what got him killed."

"Fighting Mika? That'll probably get you killed in an instant…" muttered Hanji.

"He still seemed to give Mika quite the fight, though," admitted Petra. "He said that Ein nearly killed him. So did that Lafter girl."

"Takes a lot to do that," added Gunther. "He's a tough dude, in and outside the Barbatos."

"Yeah," said Levi quietly. "Augus is certainly an impressive youth."

Looking at him with wide eyes, the rest of the S.O.S were surprised that he'd say such a thing. But still, maybe Levi saw something in Augus.

Maybe, just maybe, Mika reminded Levi of himself.

* * *

 **Days later**

Yawning, Mika readjusted his sitting on the Barbatos' chest unit.

Several hours before sunrise, Mika woke up and got ready for his first Survey Corp expedition. Apparently, it was Erwin's idea, as wanted Mika to wake up early and get the Barbatos ready. The boy didn't really have any objections to that, so he woke up early and got dressed in his spandex looking pilot outfit with his usual jeans and Tekkadan jacket wrapped around his waist like a kilt.

Though Erwin apparently didn't account for the fact that Mika needed minimal sleep, as he was awake and sitting on the Barbatos' chest unit at 2 A.M in the morning. It's terrifying, honestly.

It was so early that the other Survey Corps were either preparing for the upcoming expedition or still asleep. As for Mina and Nac, they were in the Corp base within Karanese, prepping for the outing. The only Corps here at the moment was Hanji, Sys, Coral and a few juniors, the former trio giving orders to the latter.

According to Hanji, they'd leave from the sides of Wall Rose at about seven in the morning. Ya know? That one space between the two districts. Just look up the map I suppose.

Since seven AM was a little long from now, Mika basically sat there, feeling bored. At least till a familiar, emotionless, female voice spoke up.

"Mikazuki?" it said up to him. "You up there?"

Looking down, he spotted Annie, as short, blonde, nosy (hehehe) and adorable as usual.

"Ah," he said, before he realized that those were the first words he spoke to her in about an entire month. "Why are you here?"

"Well, I took the day off," answered Annie. "You got some time for donuts?"

Looking up at the sky, Mika shrugged. He didn't just have time, he had plenty of it.

"Sure."

* * *

 **The Local Rose Donut store**

Walking out of the Rose Donut store, the two emotionless kids held their donuts in their hands. Annie had a trio of sprinkle donuts of different flavours while Mika held one raisin donut. He was a simple boy, after all.

As they strolled through Rose, Mika did get some wary looks thanks to his awkward outfit, though he ignored them. Mainly because he was telling Annie about the stuff he told the other Corps at the top of this chapter. And thankfully, it took about two hours to finish all of that, primarily because Annie wasn't Hanji.

"I'm impressed…" admitted Annie wholeheartedly as she nibbled her last donut. "You went through all that… I mean I suspected you had a rough childhood even before now… but nothing like that…"

"We all have rough times, Annie," replied Mika. "Some are just worse than others."

"I guess so," agreed Annie. "I mean, times like the Trost incident are proof of that."

"Ah," replied Mika, before he decided to shoot a compliment. "I have to say, I was impressed at how calm you were."

"Come again?" requested Annie, glancing at Mika, slightly surprised.

"I was impressed as how calm you were during the incident," repeated Mika, finishing his donut. "Most of the others were breaking down from fear. Dazz, Dieter, Jurgen, Mylius… even Mina and Nac seemed to be nervous. But you were calm throughout the entire incident."

"I guess I was…" muttered Annie, who felt her face gaining heat, something which never happened with her. "But we wouldn't have made it through without you, though."

When she said that, Mika simply nodded and stayed quiet, which gave Annie enough time to realize that Mika complemented her. Complements were rare from him, even to Mina, Nac and herself. Rare enough that Annie felt rather proud.

Quickly shaking her head, Annie immediately changed the topic.

"What about Mina and Nac?" she asked.

"Don't worry about them," assured Mika as they approached the Corp HQ. "I was assigned to protect them."

"Really?" asked a surprised Annie. "Who assigned you?"

"Petra," answered Mika. "One of Levi's teammates."

"Petra… huh?" muttered Annie. "As in Petra Ral? Ginger hair and quite short?"

"Ah."

"That was nice of her…"

"It was," agreed Mika, before he looked up at the slowly rising sun. "I should head back. Hanji might get upset again…"

"Understandable. That woman is a little much…" agreed Annie. "Good luck."

"I don't believe in luck," said Mika, turning. But he did add on. "But thanks anyways."

"Anytime, Mika," replied Annie, before she went the opposite direction. But as she did, she narrowed her eyes a tad.

 _'Petra Ral, huh?'_ she thought. _'I'll make sure you keep an eye out for you…'_

* * *

 **THUS CONCLUDES THE FLASHBACK CHAPTER!**

 **HOOOOOT!**

 **Nothing more to say… so bye?**


	18. Long Distance Scouting Formation

**So YES! FINALLY I'M UPDATING THIS.**

 **So I chose to go with the Female Titan Arc for this since there's not much to write on Tekkadan now, seeing as it's basically them preparing to meet Mika again. Updates on why I've been off below.**

 **ANYWAYS! ONTO STORY!**

* * *

Riding along the inner segment of Wall Maria (IE closer to the Walls of Trost), the Survey Corps trotted down the area, full speed and guards up.

Currently on their 34th Expedition, this one was probably their most significant one yet, as they had two 'Special' soldiers, Eren Jaeger, and the certain Mobile Suit.

"Where is he…?" muttered Hanji, who was up front. And as she asked, a Corp gave a yell.

"Titan, to the left!" exclaimed Waltz, making the rookies tremble in their boots. At least until they heard a loud noise, one which the juniors definitely heard of before. Turning to where it came from, Wall Trost, they all widened their eyes when the Gundam Barbatos came leaping out of the 50 metre tall structure and landing on the Titan, who got seriously squashed and kicked up a ton of dust in the process.

And as if the weight of a thirty point five Gundam landing on you didn't do enough damage, it was quickly followed by the Barbatos slamming the Wrench into the nape, making a hole in the floor and completely obliterating the nape and dispelling the dust, whilst revealing itself to the Corps.

As it hovered around to face the formation, Sasha only felt relieved as she whispered that she may just get out of this alive. And she was knocked back to reality when Sys conked her on the head.

"Presta atención, Blusa Sasha!" ordered Sys in his native tongue, which was basically him telling her to pay attention.

Sasha only nodded as the Barbatos joined the formation. Inside the cockpit, Mika made sure the boost didn't exceed 5%, as anything more would make him blast straight past them.

After a short while, Erwin ordered for them to assume the Long Range Scouting Formation. They splat up.

Erwin, along with most of the S.O.S and Eren (plus Hanji), rode in the middle, while pretty much everyone else rode by the Flanks, Vanguards or Front Lines. The Barbatos swerved to the right, alongside Mina, Nac, Mylius, and Sys.

"So, you're following us, Demonio de rosa?" asked Sys.

"Ah," replied Mika through the mics in the Barbatos (which, if you're wondering, should be in the mouth vents of the Barbatos).

"It is an honor to fight alongside you, mi camarada," said Sys gratefully. "I'm sure your friends will appreciate it."

"I know I appreciate it…" whispered Mylius. Though he was still rather wary of it, the boy felt that having Barbatos on their team would be better than having nothing else.

Anyways…

* * *

 **TIME SKIP!**

Zipping down the grasslands, Commander Sys's Vanguard team, consisting of Mina, Mylius, Nac and the Gundam, made sure their eyes open and ears peeled. Mainly Mylius, cuz he's the cautious one in the group.

"Titán, por la izquierda!" exclaimed Sys in his native tongue. When his juniors looked at him weird, even Mika, though he wouldn't see it, Sys just laughed uncomfortably. "Lo siento, amigo. I meant Titans, towards the right."

"Oh!" said Mac, loading a flare barrel into his white Flare Gun. It was custom painted by him, Mina and Annie to resemble the Barbatos, it was mainly white with the handle being grey, the cocking lever red and the barrels tip the dark blue of the Barbatos.

"Hey… isn't that…" began Mina, squinting.

"Diamant!" proclaimed Mylius, spotting the girl known as Hannah Diamant, someone whom Mika saved during the Battle For Trost.

"We gotta-" began Nac, before the ground shook. Turning, they saw the Barbatos slowing to a crouch before springing towards the girl, the thrusters assisting it's leap. In mid jump, it reached back and grabbed the Longsword off it's back.

With a loud **CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH** , the Barbatos smushed the 15 metre. Not stopping for a minute, Mika readjusted the Barbatos' grip on the Longsword and jammed it into the nape.

As the dust cleared, Mika saw that Hannah was thrown off her horse from the impact of the Barbatos landing. She was on her back, looking at the dispersing dust cloud fearfully, but seemed to calm down when she saw the Barbatos.

"Hannah!" exclaimed Nac as Sys's team approached the girl quickly.

"Hannah, estás bien?" asked Sys, dismounting and checking on the girl.

"H-huh…?"

"My apologies, are you alright, amigo?" repeated Sys in English.

"I-I'm fine… Commander…"

"Sys, Luke Sys," replied Sys in that Spanish accent of his. Not that they called it Spanish. I have no clue what they call it there.

Nodding, Hannah shakily stood up and looked at the ASW unit. "T-thank you…"

"Ah," said Mika through the mic, and the optics flashed a blueish green. But he than noticed something, a subtle dot on the radar, a good ways behind the Barbatos. Turning the Gundam by the waist and head units, he managed to see what it was.

Using the optic unit, he zoomed in on it and saw that it was a flare, Purple in colour. Noticing this, Sys looked up and flinched. "Esto no es bueno…"

"What is it, Commander Sys?" walked Mylius as Nac and Mina calmed Hannah down.

"Es una emergencia, the Right Flank is having an emergency!" exclaimed Sys.

"W-wha?!" proclaimed Mina. "B-but… they're pretty well guarded, I mean… with the seniors and all of them…"

"Do not mistake well guarded for unbreakable, perder Carolina," said Sys as he loaded a flare into his own gun. "With enough time, even the toughest defences will crumble."

After he relayed the message, Nac approached Sys. "What's the plan, Commander?"

"On a normal expedición, I would say we should simply relay the message. But, seeing as we have el diablo with us…"

"We're gonna help them?" asked Nac. Though was possibly suicide, Nac was willing to assist in any way he could, seeing as he wasn't willing to let anyone die. Not when he can do something about it.

"Si mi estudiante," confirmed Sys, smirking as he mounted his horse. "Those who are willing shall follow me. If you do not want to, you may stay," he continued, eyeing Hannah. But she had a determined look on her face. "Señorita Hannah, are you…"

"Yes, I am, Commander," replied Hannah, balling her hand into a fist and pressing it on her chest. "It would be what Franz would do."

"Your undying love for him is admirable, Hannah," complemented Sys, smiling at his students success. Hannah only nodded grimly as they mounted on their horses.

"Thank you…" muttered Hannah as she mushed her horsey forward, full speed. The others followed suit, with the Barbatos following with the thrusters at a 5.5% speed. If they didn't slow him, Mika and the Barbatos could've made it within a minute or even less. But he wasn't willing to leave his friends, commander and acquaintances to die, at least not intentionally.

As they headed for the source, however, a figure hustled the trees a tiny bit, crouched down. It was a Titan, approximately 14 metres or so in height, with blonde hair and feminine features ( **CLEARS THROAT** ). Cuz of this, we shall refer to it as she.

Once it was sure the Barbatos' squad was gone, the Titan got onto her feet and sprinted towards the middle of the formation, towards her target, hoping that her minor… 'distraction' would keep the Gundam Barbatos at bay long enough for her to finish her objective.

Killing that Eren Jaeger.

* * *

 **A bit down the formation**

Riding down on his horse, the blonde chap known as Armin Arlert, who was supposed to be a main character but I seem to have forgotten about him halfway through the story, kept his eyes forward.

As he rode down, he couldn't help but look around the place. As a kid, he had always wanted to see the outside. He didn't know if this counted as 'visiting the outside' as he technically came from Maria.

But since he lived only in the Shiganshina District and never in Maria, he decided to count this a visit to the outside. So, score one for that, he supposed.

Anyways, the view of the grasslands was rather hypnotizing to the kid, seeing as he's only seen houses, dead vegetation, large trees and bare land in Trost. So the admittedly beautiful look of this place kept his mind off things, be it the worries Eren has about the Barbatos/Mikazuki or the formation.

But a Flare got his attention. Turning up, he saw an orange flare. It, alongside flares like the silver/grey one, were not used too often. It signaled that help was on the way.

And if you're wondering, Silver/grey means "Found something!". I just made that up alongside Orange, btw.

Flinching, Armin wondered if he should relay the message. But he than noticed a subtle stomping noise. Turning, the boy widened his eyes when a 10 metre came race walking out of a small forested area. It had the classy smile of all Titans (at least most of em) and was walking derpily. Behind it was a black flare going up into the sky.

On it's sides were Commanders Ness and Koba. Ness was their teacher as Survey Corps. He was rather down to earth, and friendlier than most. Koba, on the other hand, was a hot headed bastard who would prefer to be training.

Anyways, enough with me talking about the characters that will die in a few minutes.

Huffing very softly so that he wouldn't make the dust particles in front of his mouth upset, Armin loaded a black flare and relayed the message.

* * *

 **Over with Ness and Koba**

Smirking, Koba looked at Ness. "Oi, ain't it just our luck that we get an Abnormal to take down, Nessy ol' boy?"

"Yeah, just our luck," replied Ness, grunting. "Hey, Koba, remember that one trick you always wanted to try?"

Somehow, Koba's smirk grew larger as he got his horse to speed up. As he moved forward, Ness readied himself to do the ballsiest thing he's done in his fifteen minutes of screentime in the anime.

Attaching the blades to their handles, Ness quickly unsheathed both of the 'Titan Swords', as Mina dubbed them, before positioning himself.

" _Of all the times, this bitch chose now to appear,"_ thought the Loch Ness Monster. " _Using Maneuver Gear this low to the ground is never advised, but I'd rather hit a rough land than have this thing break apart our formation."_

Looking to the horizon, he widened his eyes when he saw the recruit, Armin, a kilometer, or two, away. Grimacing, Ness got himself into a launching position. " _And I'm sure as Hell not letting a rookie meet one of these so soon!"_

With a powerful pelvic thrust, Ness launched off his horse and fires both the 3D-MG's wires at the Abnormal's ankles. As soon as he was in the air, Ness slammed his index finger down on the retract button, reeling him in. When he was close enough, Ness dug his heels into the gorund, slowing him down.

With a powerful swipe, the man slashed at the ankles with all his might. The slash went straight through the flesh, and made the Abnormal slam down onto the ground, and the same happened to Ness, who landed on his butt a metre or ten away.

And within a split second, Koba zipped into combat, leaping onto the nape and jamming the Titan Blade into the nape. Smirking, he removed the blade and sheathed it before jumping off the dissolving body.

"You're slow, ya know that lad?" asked Koba sarcastically as he helped his partner up.

"And you're impatient," shot Ness as his horsey came back to him. "But whatever, it's down."

Smirking, Koba nodded and remounted on his stallion, as did Ness. The two trotted towards Armin for about three seconds before noticing the floor shaking once more. Turning, the duo saw yet another Titan sprinting at them.

"Another one…" complained Ness as Koba smirked.

"Get your gear together, Ness!" encouraged the reckless man. "Let's try that again, shall we?"

"Sure…" replied Ness hesitantly, before he heard a loud stomp. And the two of them splat apart just in time to dodge the foot of the Titan. "What the?!"

"This one's quick!" proclaimed Koba, springing into the air.

"Wait, what about the plan?!" yelled Ness.

"Forget it, this one's wide open on defence!" replied Koba, ready to slash at the exposed nape.

Before he could, however, the Titan's arm suddenly sprung up. With a strong grip, it wrapped around Koba and squeezed. Hard.

The force crushed the man's bones and organs and forcing his blood out of his body. Gasping, Ness sprung into the air, willing to avenge his friend. In the air, he shot a wire at the nape, only for the Titan to grab the wire out of the air.

And with a mighty swing down, it slammed Ness onto the floor, shattering pretty much everything and sending shards of bone into his organs or out of his body. Needless to say, it mangled him pretty badly.

* * *

 **Over at Armin's side**

Widening his eyes and gasping, Armin watched as the possible Abnormal dispatched the two seniors with ease. And when it turned to him, his blood pretty much froze up.

And he probably became ice when it began sprinting at him. Panicking slightly, Armin turned his horse and got it to sprint away.

As he did, however, Armin couldn't stop the panicked thoughts coming into his mind.

" _That Titan… the way it moves… way she moves…"_ he thought, keeping his cool as best as possible, IE as well as a person breathing in a skunks scent and not gagging.

" _She's not an Abnormal… she's like Eren… like the Armored and Colossal!"_

Unfortunately, the Titan was much faster and eventually caught up with his little horsey. Leaping into the air, it crashed down a few inches shy of Armin and his horse. Though it didn't save him from the shockwave/minor tremor the Titan made.

The shaking knocked him clean off his horse and onto the ground where he rolled along before stopping on his side, his Survey Corp hood flipped up from the impact.

Grunting in pain as he got back up slowly, almost forgetting that he had a… minor problem with him. But don't worry, she landed beside him, which reminded the blonde of the Titan which was after him.

Looking up, the boy felt the wave of terror as the Female reached for him. Though he knew his death may be quick, possibly a quick _smush_ or _nom_ , but instead, he felt a grip on his cloak. It pulled on his hood, getting it off his head and lifting his top body off the ground a tiny bit.

Once he was up, Armin widened his eyes when he saw the sinister grin and blue eyes of the Titan who killed both Koba and Ness.

Gulping, Armin expected to be killed, and prayed for a quick one, but to his utter shock, she released his cloak. Falling to the ground, Armin watched as she sprinted off.

As she did, he widened his eyes beyond belief and rubbed his neck.

" _What the…"_

* * *

"Maldita sea… darn it, darn it, darn it!"

"Calm down, Sys!"

"Mis disculpas, but I do not wish for them to perish!" shot Sys, grimacing at Nac.

"There's a reason we sent the Barbatos forward," said Mina, slowly passing Sys.

"Yes, but…" replied Sys, speeding up to keep up with Mina. "What if el demonio does not make it in time?"

"He will," began Nac, his voice hard and assuring as their small team barreled along.

* * *

 **Several minutes later**

" _Mikazuki will be able to handle it."_

Gaping immensely, Sys sat atop his horse with round eyes, caused by the sight before him.

After several long minutes, Luke Sys's group finally made it to where the Right Flank was. But what they saw shocked them all, even the four others with him.

The dissolving bodies of nearly half a hundred Titans, ranging from 3 metres all the way to 15. In the middle of it all, alongside the stragglers, was the Barbatos kneeling, the Longsword in it's left manipulator, the sharp edge in the ground and the Wrench Mace resting on its opposing shoulder.

From there, they saw several Rookies and seniors assisting the wounded as the Barbatos seemed to keep watch. Grunting, Mylius got his mount to go forward, with Hannah following behind and Nac soon after.

Meanwhile, as the trio assisted the survivors, Mina got beside Sys, who still couldn't believe that Mika managed it.

"What's wrong, Commander Luke?" asked Mina, blinking.

"N-nothing, pequeño," replied Sys, smiling. "I'm just glad."

"Let me guess, that Mika made it in time?" finished Mina sarcastically smugly, making Sys smile and nod.

"Sí," replied Sys as the two trotted towards the group.

With Nac and the others, they were assisting the wounded, as I just said, while Mika oversaw most of the stuff.

As Mylius patched up a senior's bloody hand, Hannah interviewed another who was intact.

"May I ask what happened?" asked Hannah seriously. The senior simply scratched the back of his head.

"Well… uh…" replied the man, clearly wondering what he was supposed to say.

"Spill it," demanded Hannah dryly, making even the senior's blood freeze up.

"R-right… it was some sort of Titan…"

"Of course it was!" yelled Hannah, losing her cool which was odd for her since she was rather calm almost a month ago. But times did change after all…

"T-this one was different!" defended the Senior, pissing his pants. He began stammering out of fear, prompting Hannah to raise her voice once more until Sys laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Eso es suficiente señorita Hannah," said the man, making Hannah frown. "I will ask the questions. Why not go up to the Barbatos and keep watch?"

Hannah seemed to agree quarter-heartedly, but she agreed nonetheless. Launching her wires up, she begrudgingly sat down on the headrest.

As she sat down, and while Sys asked the man more politely, Mika couldn't help but wonder about Hannah. He didn't really care, seeing as her aggressive nature paled in comparison to Akihiro when he was in an enraged state (just watch his battle against Galan to see what I mean).

While he would usually not bother, he decided to ask her once they were done with this.

"Bien! Our friend here says that a Female looking Titan came through this place with a ton of Titans on her tail," announced Sys, resting a hand on his hip.

"Where'd this one go?" asked Nac.

"They do not know… maldito infierno..." cursed Sys, not noticing a Black Flare being shot into the air. Fortunately, Mikazuki was not as emotional as the Spanish man and noticed it quickly.

"Oi," said Mika. "Flare."

Looking up, the entire group saw it. Looking to Sys, a rookie asked. "Think that's it?"

"Si, it might be," replied Sys, turning to face a commander. "Waltz, can you still lead them?"

The man known as 'Waltz' looked nervous, but he nodded. "I will, my friend."

"Thank you, old friend," thanked Sys, patting Waltz on the shoulder. "El Daiblo, if you do not mind."

"I don't" cut off Mika.

"That is good to hear, my comrade," said Sys, turning to his team. "Who will join me?"

His team members looked uncertain, but Mina stepped forward. "I am."

Seeing his friend running into danger so willingly made Nac feel rather cowardly, so he volunteered as well. Hannah stepped forward as well, her face determined. Mylius very reluctantly followed as well.

Seeing his entire group wanting to follow, though not eagerly, made Sys smile proudly. "Now, let us move. Onwards!"

And at that, the group went towards where the flare was shot.

* * *

 **IT HAS BEEN MONTHS (less than 2), MANY HAVE WONDERED WHERE I'VE BEEN (and I mean no one since no one reviewed *cri*), AND AFTER MANY TIRESOME HOURS OF PLANNING AND WRITING (mainly me slacking off cuz I'm a cunt), THE FIRST ARC OF FEMALE TITAN IS UP.**

 **Right on a serious note, I apologize for the lateness of this chapter. It probably ain't the best, but it's more of a prequel to the Female T vs Barbatos. So for now, it could work.**

 **Now, on why I was gone. It's pretty simple, I was just slacking off, with me messing around with Gunpla and playing Gundam Breaker 3. Good game.**

 **Not that you really care, but the reason I managed to get the first few chapters (prologue until around 11) was because I was in my holidays. Now I'm in the schooling days, so updates will be fewer and further away.**

 **Sorry bout that, but least I haven't stopped uploading. If that's good or bad, it's up to you. It's probably bad.**

 **Oh, and if you're wondering, I did make Mina have a crush on Mika. Why… I dunno… but Atra X Mika is still OTP.**

 **And may as well just say this now, about that 'Stargate' thing I got in about C4. It basically exists so I have an excuse to turn the Barbatos into the Lupus. So there's that :P**

 **Spoiler alert? Eh you don't care anyways.**

 **Now, I'll see you in the next chapter. And leave a review if you want. It would be nice. Unless you want me to kill myself. That would be mean. But if you wanted, go ahead. I ain't stopping ya.**

 **Anyways, I'm ragging on. I'll see you guy's next time.**


	19. An expedition gone wrong, very wrong

**So, I'm back. A few minor changes to the previous chapters and we're back to this one.**

 **So this is basically the Female Titan Arc or something. I won't stall no more, so ave' a nice read.**

* * *

Zipping down the barren lands of Maria, the Right Vanguard trotted/hovered towards where the Flare was presumably shot. It took them a few minutes, about fifteen, and when they got there, they were met with a barren landscape.

There was literally nothing in sight. No blood, no Titan, not even a broken sword. Slowing, the group dismounted and checked on the place as the Barbatos' cockpit slid down and Mika stepped onto the chest unit, looking about for enemies.

"I don't see anything…" stated Mina. "Was this just some sort of sick joke…"

Nac and Mylius seemed to think that way as they looked around, seeing if they missed any bodies or drops of blood. As they did, Sys knelt down and felt the ground.

"Recluta a Tias," said Sys, making Nac turn to him. "Please come here for a segundo."

Though he didn't know what segundo (second in Spanish BTW) meant, but still went to his commander's side.

"What does this look like to you, my amigo?" asked Sys, as he looked down at a subtle mark in the floor. Narrowing his eyes, Nac widened them when he saw that it was a Titan's foot. It was about two and a half metres and a metre wide, indicating that the Titan was probably a fourteen metre.

"It's…"

"A Titan's footprint," finished Sys.

"But why would an emergency flare be shot if it was just a Titan?" asked Nac.

"There are only two possibilities. The first is that we have an extremely smart Abnormal, or the second…"

"A Human in a Titan's body?" finished Nac, bewildered. "But I thought it was just Eren or the Colossal and Armoured…"

"The Armoured is fifteen metres, Tias," said Sys as Mina, Hannah and Mylius poked their heads in to listen. "I think we may have another Shifter to deal with."

"What?!" exclaimed Mina, widening her eyes as she heard that. It wasn't surprising, as, aside from the three known ones, including Jaeger, were the only one who were known to be able to turn. So a fourth one was a surprise.

And this one being an enemy made her blood freeze beyond belief. So just imagine how Mylius felt.

"What's the plan, sir?" asked Hannah, her voice a little unsteady.

Poking his chin, Sys thought of what they were to do. Fire an emergency flare? Retreat? Just keep going like nothing happened?

"Sys," came an emotionless voice. Turning and looking up at Mikazuki, Sys saw that he was looking up to the sky. Mirroring Mika, Sys looked up, as did his juniors, and saw that there were multiple green flares in the sky.

"The formation is still going, but we're changing the destination…" said Sys, before widening his eyes. "Wait… Erwin can't be serious…"

"What is it, sir?" asked Mylius worriedly.

"Erwin wants us to head to the Zona turística…" said Sys. "The Titan Forests…"

"I've heard of that," said Nac, his voice barely steady. "It's a forest which is infested with Titans. I know a lot of experienced Survey Corps dying in there…"

"But we have no choice…" said Sys, mounting up on his horse. "We must follow…"

Looking between each other, Nac, Mina and Hannah nodded and mounted on. Mylius didn't seem willing, but followed anyways. Mika got into the cockpit and plugged into the Alaya Vijnana port before following.

* * *

 **Minutes later**

As they approached the forests, the team encountered many bodies of deceased Survey Corps, all bent in gruesome shapes and sometimes squashed or in many pieces.

"What happened here…" muttered Mylius, horrified at the amount of deceased Corps which were seen.

"It's obvious, Mylius," came Mika's voice from the built in mic. "Titan."

"This just adds to the teoría of our enemy being a Titan in a human's body," added Sys. "Come, my camaradas, we must push forward and cita with our camaradas!"

"What?" came Hannah's voice.

"Uh… I mean we must group back up with our comrades!" repeated Sys in english as Hannah gave an 'oh…' face.

Zipping forward for a couple more minutes, the Forests of Maria eventually came into view. The trees were twice as tall as the Gundam and half as wide, and seemed to look like a maze than anything.

"Sys!" exclaimed a Corp, making the group turn and see Coral Reeves, trotting towards them quickly. He saw the Barbatos, but paid it no mind as he's found out that it, or the pilot, had no intentions of harming them.

"Coral, what is wrong my friend?" asked Sys.

"Cap'in Erwin wants the rookies to stay up in the trees of the Forest," said Coral. "All seniors are to enter the woods using the maneuver gear."

"What of El Diablo?" asked Sys. "The pilot is most effective inside the Traje móvil."

"... wha?"

"My apologies. Mikazuki Augus is most effective inside the Barbatos."

"Ah…" began Coral. "Erwin wants him to go into the Woods straight up."

"I see, but why are the Trainees supposed to be on the trees?" asked Sys.

"Erwin wants them to attract the attention of the Titans. Not engage them, just keep them at bay," explained Coral.

"Might I ask why?"

"Because we have a Titan problem," replied Coral. "We think it is an Abnormal, or at worst…"

"A human in a Titan's body?" asked Nac.

"Ai, how did you know, junior?" asked Coral, surprised.

"We have big brains," joked Mina, smiling. Coral could see the sarcasm and nodded with a smile.

"Good to see that we chose good Trainees to help us," said Coral as they got closer to the woods. When they did, they spotted several Trainees who flinched at the sight of Barbatos. And they also saw that there were a few Titans around the bottom of them, too short to reach their prey, only humping the trees, trying to push em down.

"How'll we get up there…" muttered Nac, and his answer was given when the Barbatos sprung forward and landed right in front of the Trees. And with a strong side slam, Mika/the Barbatos knocked every last one away with the Wrench Mace, making the Corps give a wide eyed look. "Nevermind I asked."

As they approached the tall ass trees, the rookies sprung from their horses and shot their wires up to unoccupied branches. Mina took one which was beside Armin.

"Now, let's move!" said Coral, turning his horse and trotting into the forest. Sys followed suit, but Mika only looked up at Mina, who nodded.

"Go, we'll be fine here," she instructed, and the Barbatos nodded in reply before hovering after the seniors.

After a few short minutes, the Barbatos was out of view and the sounds of it's thrusters died off, leaving the rookies to themselves and leaving behind an ominous silence. No one said much, with the only noise being an occasional cough and the Titans growling.

However, after a few minutes, Mina noticed the bandage around Arlert's head. Curiously, she decided to ask.

"Armin…" began Mina, sounding worried. "What happened to your head?"

"It's nothing, Mina…" insisted Armin, sounding depressed.

"Doesn't sound like nothing, Armin," replied Mina. "Come on, you can tell me…"

"Well… it's that Titan the Seniors are dealing with…"

"It did this to you?"

"Hai…" replied little Armin. "A few hours ago, we encountered it, me, Reiner and Jean. We tried to slow it down and only managed to stall it for a couple minutes. But the way it moved… the way it dispatched us… it was as though it was-"

"A human in a Titan's body?" finished Mina, surprising Armin.

"How did you guess?"

"We didn't guess. Commander Sys theorised it," replied Mina. "He's a smart amigo."

"Amigo?"

"It means friend in another language."

* * *

 **Inside the forest**

The Titan forests were usually quiet, as there are not many things in here which would get a Titan to try and attack. Wildlife never bothered them, less it was a human, so the deers and squirrels were pretty safe.

Unfortunately for all the sleeping moths or racoons, there was an extra being at work here. 188 metres tall and extremely heavy, it hovered through the forest at a high speed, accompanied by two Survey Corps which were accompanying it.

"So, camarada, what will this Titan look like?" asked Sys as he whirled past a tree.

"Think of a large woman Titan," replied Coral, making Sys flinch a bit.

"Es razón suficiente para tener miedo de ella… (translation: it's enough reason to be scared of it…)," whispered Sys as they zipped alongside the Gundam. "What is the plan?"

"The plan is in motion," replied Coral. "The Elite Team should have the Titan pinned down by-"

And he was cut off by a blood curdling scream. "What the?!"

And within a second, the ground began shaking. Turning, with Sys and Coral landing on trees, they saw about thirty Titans come charging. Mika was ready to face them, but was surprised when most simply ignored him and curved around, leaving about three who tried to take the Barbatos down, only to be killed in a second.

"Hoh?" muttered Mika, confused as he turned the Barbatos at the waist. Kneeling down on his branch, Coral scratched his chin.

"The Titan... it let out a death screech..." muttered Coral.

"What of it, Reeves?" asked Sys.

"I'm thinking that Captain Levi and Erwin caught the Titan in their trap and threatened to bring it in," began Coral. "Levi, being Levi... probably threatened the Titan or the human inside and it panicked, giving a death screech and called in Titans to try to eat it. After all, we've seen that Titans view humans who become Titans as a source of food."

"Do you think the Titán is consumed?" asked Sys.

"It could be..." started Coral, before a flare was shot up.

"Flare," informed Mika, turning the Barbatos' head unit up. Looking at the green flare, Sys nodded.

"We are changing course?" asked Coral.

"Si, we are amigo," replied Sys. "If we are correct, we are either falling back or persueing the Titan."

"I would bet that Erwin is going to persue the Titan," said Coral. "But from what I know, we wont be able to take it down. No single Corp or even a group of experienced ones can do it."

"But we have something else, amigo," said Sys, smirking. When Coral turned to look at him, Sys simply motioned at the Barbatos, eyes a blueish green and staring at them. "With El demonio de Tekkadan, we stand a chance of defeating this Titan and possibly even saving our friends and comrades!"

Looking to the Gundam, Coral only nodded. While it wounded his pride to rely on it, he admitted that Sys was right. This thing was more than a match for Eren as a Titan, so it could very likely take on this 'Female' Titan if needed.

"But if we wanna get there as quick as possible," said Coral, pointing to the trees. "We have to go through here. And the Barbatos doesnt seem to be able to get through there easily."

"Do not worry, amigo," assured Sys, smiling at the Barbatos. "You can make your way through, can you not?"

"Ah," replied Mika. "Lead on."

Smirking, Sys launched his wires and whizzed past the dense forest, followed by Coral. Crouching the Barbatos down, Mika took in a deep breath and made sure his connection to Barbatos was still fine. When he confirmed it was, he blasted through the trees and effectively weaved through them thanks to the Alaya Vijanan giving him the extra reaction speed and spacial awareness.

As he did, however, he couldn't shake the feeling of worry in his chest, as he remembered that Petra was part of Team Levi. Though not as much as Mina or Nac, and to some extent, Mylius, Mika still did care for Petra, the one who shook his fears on his friends being too weak and the one who was willing to speak to him calmly.

The one in Levi's team, which was probably going to face the Titan who decimated most other teams effortlessly. It made him feel worried, if only a bit. And the fact that Levi was there didn't really help as, while not the most polite person in the world, he still respected Ackerman.

Levi still knew how to speak with care and when speaking of sensitive topics, he didn't really joke about. Also, he makes some bitchin fine tea.

Sighing, Mika looked up at the monitor of the Gundam and said a soft prayer he heard of when Mina used to drag him to church before the days of being Soldiers.

"Stay safe..." muttered Mika after he was done. "At least until I get there..."

 **Admittedly, this isn't the best chapter. But still, I'm trying to include the Side Characters POVs in the main story because rewriting an entire series with one extra thing is not interesting. Sure that'll make my job easier, but it ain't fun ya know?**

 **So I did add some minor things to the previous chapters, not much, just some. And I'm back to this. Should I be smiling? Probably not, but I will anyways.**

 **See ya in the next one.**

 **Fun fact: this story used to be called 'The White Devil of Wall Rosee'. All my documents still share the initials. 'TWKOWR'.**

 **XTRA**

As the Barbatos zipped through the grasslands, a figure came flying at it. Mika pulled on the arm controllers and snatched it out of the air and saw that it was the broken and beaten body of a Corp.

"Something wrong, Mika?" asked Nac, and Mika promptly tossed the body away.

"No. Nothing's wrong."


	20. Initiating plans

**So this chapter was supposed to be up a few days ago or something. But school got in the way, not to mention Gundam Breaker 3. And also it ain't easy to type in Google Docs while you're sick.**

 **Yes I'm sick. Give me pity. That was a joke. Also, at the time of writing this, I was gonna write out an April Fools special, but again, the sickness hit me like how the foot unit of the Barbatos F6 hit the Graze Ritter's cockpit during the Carta vs Mika fight.**

 **But I'm rambling. Enjoy this chapter which is basically SnK ep 19**

* * *

Going through the Forests, the S.O.S/ Team Levi went at full speed, trying to outrun a certain Titan.

As they did, Eren slowly began panicking, as did the rest of Team Levi but they hid their panic well enough.

Well, at least till a Senior Corp came flying from the forests, catching the attention of the Team, minus Levi. Seeing the guy, Eren smiled a minor bit, glad to see a fellow Corp catching up.

And that moment of gladness was whooshed away when a massive 14 metre came dashing forward and swatted the guy out of the air with a simple swing. And Eren widened his eyes in terror when he saw it, or her.

It had a female-ish look, with blond hair and a nasty ass grin which told him that it/she was coming for that ass of his.

"Go!" proclaimed Levi, either completely crazy or way too brave for his own sake. Eren listened and, along with the other elites, went on, though it was hard to listen when the Titan catches up and nearly grabs you, or if it breaks a tree down by accident when trying to do so.

'It's fast!' thought Eren as it sprinted after em', a sinister look in it's eyes.

"In these trees…" muttered Gunther, regrettably letting his panic take over. "We won't be able to accurately predict its movements!"

"Captain!" exclaimed Petra, already panicking. "Let's switch to our Maneuver Gear!"

"You won't escape!" came a voice from behind, followed by two Corps.

"Reinforcements from the rear!" informed Petra, looking hopefully.

One of the two tried launching a wire at the Titan, but it jerked to the left and the wire went flying until the Titan grabbed it. And with a powerful jerk to the right, it shouldered the poor corp and he exploded in a gory mess.

Poor guy.

And the other wasn't any luckier. The Titan saw him coming a lightyear away and dodged before grabbing his wire and pulling him in. When he was close, it slapped him out of the air with little effort.

Who died a worse death? You tell me.

Anyways, instead of mourning for those poor corps like I would usually do, let's go on.

Tossing aside that poor kid, the Titan continued its relentless charge, freaking Eren out a fair bit.

"Captain, what are your orders?!" exclaimed Patra, close to losing it at this point.

"Let's go for it!" added Olou, somehow keeping his cool. "It's dangerous! We should kill it! At this rate, it _will_ catch up with us!"

"We have to kill it here! That's why we came into this forest!" added Eld. "Right, Captain?!"

"Captain, your orders?!" exclaimed Eren.

"Everyone," came Levi's voice as he turned back, impossibly calm. "Cover your ears."

And they did, minus Olou, and Levi fired a flare into the air. And right when it left the barrel, a loud _**BANG**_ noise was created. Those who had their ears covered still felt their ears burst a little, while Olou looked like he was about to lose his supper.

Though the Titan hardly even flinched.

"A noise grenade?" questioned Eren over the noise, making Levi turn his eyes back.

"What's your job?" asked Levi, ignoring Jaeger's question. "To just let yourself be swayed by whatever you're feeling at the moment? No, it's not. Our squad's job is to keep the Pilot in check and to keep the brat from getting a single scratch on him. Even if it costs our lives."

The squadmates nodded subtly as Levi ordered them to keep on their horses.

"Keep going?" asked Eren. "For how much longer? It's nearly right on top of us…"

As he said that, two more were swatted out of the air. Eren demanded that they turned to assist, but the entire S.O.S told him to keep on moving. He would have listened, but the blockhead remembered his power, of sorts.

Sheathing his blade, Eren looked to his right thumb.

'No… I can fight on my own…' thought the guy, looking at his hand. 'Why am I relying on others… or even on _him_? I can just fight on my own…'

Pulling his thumb close to his mouth, Eren got ready to chomp down, until Petra shouted at him. "What are you doing, Eren?! You're only allowed to do that if your life is in danger! You promised us!"

The dumbass was gonna ignore her and bite, and Petra shouted his name again, her eyes filled with fear. But Levi spoke up.

"You aren't wrong," he said, making Petra look at him in confusion. "If you want to do it, then do it. I can tell. He's a real monster.

"And it has nothing to do with his Titan power. No matter what you use to suppress him, no matter what cage you place him in, he will never submit to anyone. Eren,, the difference between your decision and ours is experience. But you don't have to rely on that.

"Choose. Believe in yourself, or believe in your comrades. I do not know, never have, never will. But I can believe in my own abilities or the choices of companions I trust. But no one ever knows how it will turn out.

"So, choose for yourself whichever decision you'll regret least."

Turning back, Eren watched as yet another got smacked out of the air, and he nearly considered his own abilities, but Petra wasn't willing to let that happen.

"Eren!" she yelled, and he turned to see her face in a fearful look. "Have faith!"

Within a few seconds, Jaeger made up his mind.

"I'll go forward!" he exclaimed, surprising the team, even Levi. as they went on, another Corp was killed, but Jaeger looked down and kept on moving. ' _I'm sorry!'_

And the Titan began to crouch lower like a sprinter or something, picking up speed like Sunky the Hedgehog. I would call him by his real name, but Sega might Copyright Claim me.

Anyways, where were we…

"Target is accelerating!" informed Eld fearfully.

"Go!" encouraged Gunther. "We **WILL** outrun it!"

But Jaeger wasn't too convinced. He thought that if they kept on moving, it would stomp em all flat like a pancake.

But, encouraged by the bravery of his comrades, Eren moved on, eyes ahead.

And finally, the Titan made it's move, stomping down at the group, missing the gang by mere metres. And, unfortunately for the Titan, it fell right into the trap of the Corps.

As, you see, in it's hasty rush in trying to get Jaeger, it did not see anchor shot thingys and the Corps hiding out in the trees and behind a few blockades which were set up a couple minutes ago until it was too late.

And from his tree, Commando Eyebrows… errrrm… I mean Erwin gave the command.

"FIRE!"

At his word, one third of the anchors shot out of their compartments and right onto the Female Titan, or the floor beside it, or even some unfortunate ant who was walking along. The shots went right into it's flesh and trapped it there, though the Titan was apparently smart enough to cover up it's nape with both hands.

As Eren turned and gaped at what just happened, Levi gave out orders. "Advance a bit further, tether the horses and switch to your Maneuver Gear. you'll be on your own for a while. Eld, lead the squad. Once you're a good distance away from the Titan, hide Eren and see if you can somehow catch the pilot's attention."

And with that, he leapt off his horse and fired a wire up to the nearest tree and hauled himself up.

As he went back to the Titan, Eren raised an eyebrow. "He can't be serious… their taking it in alive?"

Looking around, Jaeger saw that the others seemed confused as well. But Gunther didn't really bother. "Well, see that, Jaeger? We caught the Titan!"

"This is the power of the Survey Corps!" added Olou, not that proud as he was still a little worn out from the riding and his heart was still racing. "Not the power of a piece of scrap or a human turning into a Titan. So, don't you ever underestimate us, fool!"

"I'm sure he gets it, Olou," said Eld, calming down as Petra smiled, clearly relieved to be out of the oven. Though she still thought that if Mikazuki was here, the casualties would have been minimized.

Eren, on the other hand, smiled. "Yes sir!"

* * *

 **With Erwin**

Looking down at his captured prey, Eyebro- I mean… Erwin stood there as Levi launched up to him.

"Looks like it's stopped moving," said Levi, looking at the one who killed their comrades.

"We can't lower our guard," advised Erwin, glancing at Levi. "But you did well, leading it here."

"I don't see why we couldn't ask Mikazuki to assist," said Levi flatly. "Men died buying us the time we needed. Their deaths could have been avoided if he were here to help."

"Is that so?" said Erwin.

"It is," replied Levi.

"Mikazuki is only concerned with protecting his friends, and we had no legitimate reason to let them into the front squads," said Erwin. "Also, he saved most of the Rear squad, which kept our formation intact."

"And thanks to both him and those who died," said Levi, turning to the Titan. "We'll be able to see who's inside this thing. I hope they haven't pissed themselves.

With that said, Levi narrowed his eyes and was ready to chop this thing apart, but Erwin held him back, suggesting a better alternative.

"An eye for an eye," he said. "Waves 2 and 3, fire!"

And the two other anchor shots were fired at the Titan, piercing it's skin and at times going right through it's body.

One Corp jokingly fired a shot onto its rear. "How's that?!" she asked mockingly. "You won't even be able to scratch an itch now!"

"Scratch that, Lura," said Hanji, who was beside her partner. She stared up at the 'Female' Titan with a sadistic grin. "You won't even be able to make a single move, or even for the rest of your life. They're designed so that the more you heal, the more immobilized you will become!"

As she chuckled darkly, Lura looked away from the woman. "Damn… she's crazy."

"But they still can't draw out whoever's inside?" question Hanji as Lura went around to assist other soldiers. "What are Levi and Mike doing…"

And right when she said that, both Elites swung down and sliced at the hands of the Titan. But, surprisingly, the hands turned into a crystal-ish colour. When their blades connected with the hands, their swords snapped like toothpicks.

Launching up to Erwin, Mike shook his head and held up his broken blades. Huffing a little, Erwin looked to the Titan.

' _It can selectively harden its skin to protect specific parts of its body?'_ he thought, a tiny bit baffled. ' _It's similar to what I've heard of the Armored Titan. If we continue using the Maneuver Gear and blades, will it weaken…? We don't have time to find out…'_

"Ready the explosives!" ordered Erwin as a Corp came onto his branch.

"But sir…" he said, sounding unsure. "With the amount we have… we might end up killing the human inside…"

Hearing this, Erwin ended up a little uncertain as he wanted the human alive for interrogation, or something. Putting a hand to his chin, Erwin began thinking of an alternative. He couldn't think of anything, and was about to order for them to prep the boom booms while Levi stood on the Titan's head and threatening it by saying he'd cut off its human arms and legs since they'd grow back.

Before Erwin could give the order to just blow it up, a Corp came to his side. Turning to him, Erwin recognised the man as Kyle, one of them Corp who led the retaking of Trost.

"Sir," he greeted.

"What is it, Kyle?" asked Erwin.

"I got a tip from a few behind the lines that the Gundam is on it's way here," informed the man, and Erwin swore that the Titan seemed to tense up, as if the human inside was scared. He wouldn't blame it, as the Barbatos could apparently break the Armored Titan's armour with it's fist. Not too much, but enough to dent it. And it could sure as Hell break through them crystals and get the person inside.

But what he didn't expect was for it to jerk a little, and even moved the Anchors a tiny bit. And when it apparently figured that it couldn't break free with it's current dilemma, the Female raised it's head high and let out a loud ass scream.

So loud that the juniors and the approaching Barbatos could hear it.

"Well…" muttered Levi, scratching his head. "That was weird."

"Were those her dying screams?" muttered a Corp. "To signal her death by Gundam?"

As the Corps wondered, Mike spoke up. "Erwin. It stinks."

"What direction?" asked Erwin.

"Multiple sources, from all directions," replied Mike, looking a little nervous. And that made Erwin's eyes widen.

* * *

"What the?!"

At that, most of the Junior Corps turned to the Titans who were sprinting away from them. Gritting his teeth, Nac shouted. "They're all Abnormals?!"

"It doesn't matter!" proclaimed Mina, launching forward alongside Connie and Ymir. "We have to keep them here at all costs!"

"Hold them here!" exclaimed Reiner. "Begin Combat!"

* * *

As the floor began to rumble, Erwin figured that the Barbatos, even at full speed, wouldn't be able to get here in time, so he had no real choice but to order for the more… explosive choice. Blow those hands apart, hopefully get the human out who's alive and get out ASAP.

"Ready those explosives, NOW!" exclaimed Erwin.

"Erwin…" said Mike, fear apparent in his voice. "The first wave will come from the east… and they're almost here."

"Cart guard team, intercept!" ordered Erwin. And on his command, Goggles and two other Corps launched forward and past the Titans, who ignored them. They didn't complain, as it made their job of slicing their napes easier.

"They ignored us…" muttered Goggles. "Are they Abnormals?"

In their wonder, three more Titans managed to whiz past them. As they did, Levi stomped on the Female Titan's head. "Oi, you did something didn't you?" he demanded.

And after a second, he shot a wire towards the incoming enemies and launched forward. And with one graceful motion, Ackerman sliced all three napes at once. However, one got through their blockade and latched onto the Female Titan's leg.

' _So, they're after the Female Titan?'_ thought Erwin, looking down at it. But the rumble of several hundred, or maybe a little less, definitely less, Titans came stomping towards it.

"Titans from all directions!" exclaimed Goggles as they came closer towards the captured Titan.

"All men, engage!" ordered Erwin. "Defend the Female Titan, even if it costs your lives!"

And on his command, the Corps launched forward began hacking and slashing at the enemies. But it didn't really work out, as the Titans already reached their target and were ripping into the Female Titan's flesh with their teeth.

"It's no use!" exclaimed a Corp fearfully. He wasn't wrong, as for every Titan slain by their blades, about two more came to replace it. The only good thing was that they were all focused on the Female and not them, which made their job a tiny bit easier.

But despite the attention directed away from them, the massive influx of Titans made this almost impossible. And when they got rid of the Female, they would most definitely start slaughtering his comrades.

Gritting his teeth in frustration, Erwin closed his eyes, nearly ordering for a retreat.

Until the familiar sound of seven boosters were heard.

"What the…" said Mike, who was unfamiliar with the sound. But he suddenly widened his eyes after a sniff. And it smelled like a tree. "Everyone, get back!"

Hearing the command of an Elite, the Soldiers immediately pulled back, and just in time as a massive object which was around 20-50 metres came flying towards them. It slammed into every Titan in the area, including the Female, crushing the small ones and injuring the larger ones. The body of the Female Titan went limp, and the anchors either snapped or were detached from it's body.

Despite that, the Corps didn't pay much attention to it, mainly because it was dissolving, making most think the human inside was dead. Hanji would have thought of some epic theory, but she was too stunned by what was in front of them.

It was a tree, sliced cleanly near its roots. They didn't know anything which could do that, unless...

"What just…" muttered a Corp, before a slight stomp was heard. Turning, the front squad saw the one who probably saved them.

"Nice timing, Mikazuki," said Levi when he saw the ASW-G-08 standing there in an offensive stance, the Wrench Mace held tightly in it's manipulator.

Sighing, Mika got into his usual mood when fighting. Scanning the area, he detected about sixty or so Titans. A large threat to a soldier, and a(n extremely) minor one to a Gundam pilot.

"Let's do this… Barbatos…" muttered Mikazuki, taking a deep breath in.

And as if agreeing with him, the optic blasted a powerful green shade.

* * *

 **Ah yes, more cliffhangers. But whatever. Let's go on to the next chapter.**

 **On the topic of the planned April Fools chapter, I was gonna make a Sasha and Atra chapter where Atra cooks various foods for the girl. I might do it for a joke chapter if y'all want it. Comment down below 'cookie' if you want it :/**

 **Also, regarding the chapter. The top quarter was recorded yesterday (1/4/17) and the other 75% was finished on the next/today (do I need to say it?) when the sickness is gone, a little. Don't get me wrong, I still feel like shit. But a little less like shit.**

 **Also, I read (pronounced reh-d) the review by the Guest, and honestly, I am considering the Harem thing. The Full City vs Armoured Titan may be a little complicated since the A-T doesn't use weapons which could damage the Full City or have a self destruct, but I'll see if I can do it. No promises.**

 **Right, now I'll see y'all soon, and hopefully I don't die from this sickness :P**

 **R.I.P, Lafter Frankland, Naze Turbine, Amida, Orga Itsuka, Norba Shino and Mcgillis Fareed, Akihiro Atland and Mikazuki Augus... it was a good run in Season 2.**


	21. A Wrench in the plan

**Welcome, to episode 21! Or chapter 21 if you're more into that.**

 **I don't have an Intro, so yes.**

* * *

So there it stood, the ASW-G-08 Barbatos. It was a little crouched, arms bent at the elbows a little over ninety degrees, it's massive 'Wrench' held firmly in it's left manipulator/hand.

(If you're wondering, it's the exact same pose the Barbatos had when it first fought the Graze Ritters on earth)

Motionless, the White Devil did not stir, simply staring at it's opponents for a few, long seconds. The Titans were mainly focused on the body of the Female Titan, but some were bored with it or something, as they turned to face the Gundam Frame or trying to climbing up the trees the Corps were on. And the climbing went as well as you'd expect.

Just as the Barbatos crouched down lower, it's free manipulator/hand in front of it and Mace holding one behind, Lura inched close to Hanji's ear and whispered, "You did say you want to see it in action, didn't ya?"

(and if you're wondering, the pose it's in right now is the stance the Barbatos was in during the start of the Mika vs Crank battle)

And Hanji only squealed in excitement, and right when it left her mouth, the Barbatos blasted forward to… greet it's opponents, with a smack to the face with a 20 metre Mace.

The first Titan who tried to beat the Barbatos was slammed right in the abdomen with the Wrench Mace, sending it flying into a 7 metre trying to climb a tree. A 15 metre attempted to jump on the Frame, only for the Barbatos to reach back and grab the longsword off it's back and slamming it right into the things neck, slicing cleanly through.

After the Gundam pulled the blade out, it went on to grind the Titans into minced meat which dissolved after a few seconds, with the Survey Corps looking on, eyes wide and (most) mouths agape.

Any other Tekkadan member would enjoy the attention they were given, but Mikazuki could give less of a crap, but he was a little annoyed at the amount of it he was given as he was not used to it.

Quickly sheathing the blade, Mika jerked the arm unit to the left and sent a 13 metre soaring across the sky before quickly aiming an Autocannon at a 3 metre. The shot went straight into it's mouth because it was greedy and came out of it's neck, and in turn the nape.

As it slaughtered the pack, and as Hanji watched with full attention, examining how it moved with every fiber of her being. Because it was in the morning/afternoon and not night, she could see how human like it's fighting style was. The limbs moved fluidly as though they were human limbs and the reaction speed was incredible, and, in some ways, even better than a human's reaction speed.

It probably had something to do with that 'Alaya Vijnana' system. In her two weeks of asking (bothering) Mika, she learnt that the thing would connect into the Barbatos via a connector in the cockpit. It allowed him to, in a way, connect with the Gundam and enhance his senses tenfold.

And it was rather apparent as, even when facing overwhelming odds or caught in a situation where he would be off guard, he was able to effectively dodge the enemy and counterattack within a fraction of a second, seeing as he was able to sidestep a Titan and slam its fist into the nape within the space of a second.

Anyways, while Mika slaughtered the enemies, and while Hanji watched with the enthusiasm of a psychopath watching his victim bleed out (cough cough), Levi launched himself towards Erwin, who was looking at the Gundam, thankful for it's arrival and upset at the mission's failure.

"We would have been had if he didn't come," stated Levi matter-of-factly.

"Our enemies…" muttered Erwin, ignoring Levi's crack. "Are willing to sacrifice everything. But I never anticipated it to destroy itself along with the evidence…"

As he said that, the Barbatos slammed a 13 metre down with the Wrench of his, shaking the ground like an earthquake. Or more realistically, a tremor.

But while the thing demolished the Titan horde, Erwin couldn't help but wonder about the Female Titan. Though it was eaten, he only saw it's Titan body be consumed, not the human inside. This made him think, was the Female Titan's human controller alive?

If it was… then may God have mercy on them all. And may God have mercy on the Female Titan, as the Barbatos could easily kill it.

"After all that talk in the Court Martial on Eren and Mikazuki…" complained Levi, snapping Erwin out of his slight thought.. "This is what happens… and we can only imagine what they'll do to either of them if we go back without any leads."

"We can think of that later, Ackerman," said Erwin. "Seeing as our target is gone," the Barbatos swung the Mace into a Titan, sending it into the air and home ran it, "Our top priority is to get our soldiers out of here with minimal casualties."

And he looked to the corpse of the Female Titan, where the steam was going up in the air, and it would very well limit visibility of the Flares. And also, there was the problem of the Female Titan still being alive. But still… there was always the Gundam.

And as if on cue, the ASW unit swung the Mace sideways, destroying five Titans and clearing the steam quickly.

'Right… nevermind,' thought Erwin, smiling a tiny bit. "I'll call my team," said Levi, turning to do that as the Gundam clamped down on a 15 Metre with the broken front of the Wrench.

"Wait, Levi…" said Erwin as the Gundam swung the Titan which was caught in the Mace at a smaller 3 metre, crushing it with the trapped larger one. "Refill your gas and replace your blades."

"There's no time," replied Levi. "And besides, I have enough. Even if I don't, I could always use the Pilot's. Why?"

"That's an order," said Erwin sternly, ignoring the shorter man's question. "Follow it."

OOOOOH. THAT BURN.

"Roger, Erwin," said Levi as the Gundam tore apart the last Titan and stomped on what was left. "I'll trust your judgement."

Erwin nodded subtly at that, before turning to the ASW-G-08. As if sensing someone watching it, the unit turned to face Erwin, green eyes bright, yet lifeless. But Smith could tell that the boy inside was waiting for a kind of order.

"We are retreating, Augus," informed Erwin as Levi aimed his flare gun into the air and fired a blue flare, alerting the juniors and S.O.S of the retreat Erwin ordered. "But I have a different order for you, Mikazuki Augus."

Raising an eyebrow, Levi looked to Erwin. "What is it?"

"Stay here and wait for Levi's team to fire their flare. When they do, rendezvous with them," ordered Erwin, before a small amount of steam was pushed out of the mouth vents.

"Ah," replied Mika, not asking much more questions.

"Good," said Erwin, before pointing his blade towards the west. "Let's move!"

* * *

"We're retreating," said an unnamed Corp. "Everyone, fall back. Head back to your horses."

"Right!" came his reply from Krista.

"The operation's over?" muttered Nac.

"It seems like it," said Mylius, sounding rather relieved. "Come on!"

But Nac really didn't like it. If his hypothesis was correct, the Titan, which Armin, when he crossed paths with him recently, told him was apparently called the 'Female Titan' was a Shifter type.

From what little he's seen, a Shifter was smarter and stronger than default Titans. And it wouldn't take such little time (30-45 minutes) to take down a Shifter, especially one who took nearly took out the flank and killed nearly a quarter of the formation.

But still, this was a direct order from the middle of the formation, IE where Erwin was, and he had no real place to deny it. But still, that didn't stop him from looking into the distance for a few seconds until Mylius tapped his head.

"Nac?" muttered Mylius, snapping the boy back to the real world.

"Huh?" groaned Nac, an eyebrow raised.

"You blanked out for a sec there, Tius," replied Mylius, unsheathing a blade from it's canister to replace a broken one. "We're falling back."

"I know, let's move," said Nac, making Mylius nod and blast forward. Shaking his head a little, Nac followed suit, hoping what he thought of was wrong.

* * *

 **Back with the seniors**

"I never expected the Female Titan to turn to such a method…"

"Neither did I, Hanji," came Glass's reply from Lura, a character who Mr Stryker made as a one off person, but decided to keep around because he likes side characters.

Currently, Erwin, Hanji, Coral and Lura, alongside several other Corps were heading in reverse, with Levi somewhere in the trees, zipping after them, out of the forests on horseback. Several kilometres behind them stood the Barbatos, who was rather hard to see due to the trees obstructing their vision.

"Erwin…" came Hanji's voice. "Why did you get Mika to rendezvous with Levi's team, or for Levi to resupply? There isn't time to waste"

"The Female Titan was eaten," came her reply. "But did you see the person inside get eaten? I didn't."

"You don't mean…" muttered Hanji, widening her eyes a tiny bit.

"Yes…" if your original hypothesis was correct," stated Erwin. "If the one's controlling the Titan body can still move to a certain degree when they are no longer inside it… and if they've had Maneuver Gear equipped in advance…

"The person who controls the Titan is wearing our uniform right now," finished Erwin.

* * *

 **Elsewhere**

"If they are still out there, they will most likely try to eliminate Eren. and seeing that Levi's squad is separated from us, they will most likely take full advantage of that."

Zipping by the trees of the 'Titan Forests', the S.O.S made their way to their horses after Gunther relayed the Blue Flare.

The group did end up arguing about being scared, mostly because Eld teased Olou and Petra about nearly pissing their pants on their first mission, which made Petra mad and scream for once at least until a green Flare in the northern (I assume) corner of the forests.

"That must be Captain Levi's signal…" said Gunther. "Come! We'll rendezvous with Captain Levi! Cut the chatter until then!"

Swinging onto a branch, Gunther aimed his Flare gun into the air and relayed a green flare.

* * *

 **A couple minutes later**

Making their way through the forests, the S.O.S, plus Eren, kept an eye out for Titans or whatever. As they did, Gunther noticed a hooded SC going by them.

"Captain Levi?" said Gunther to the person, responded by silence. And there was something off with that, as Levi would never respond without words unless drinking tea.

"No… it's not!" he exclaimed, eyes widening. "Who are you?!"

And before he could even raise his arms, the person whirled around and swung their blades at him, and the last thing he saw, besides the blades and the hood, was a lock of blonde hair.

It was a quick and efficient slice, going right through his neck and chest. And if he wasn't dead, he probably would have been after his head was slammed into a tree.

Gasping, Jaeger stopped swinging around and went straight to Gunther's corpse. "G-Gunther!"

And trust me when I say that he was horrified when he saw what happened to Gunther. He just hung there like an upside down marionette left to rot, his eyes losing their colour and staring at nothing.

As he stared bewilderedly at Gunther's corpse, his killer kept moving, looking out for a way to eliminate the one who they are wanting to kill.

"GUNTHER!" exclaimed Eren, horrified at what he was seeing, but Olou quickly came up behind him and pushed him forward.

"Keep going, Jaeger!" exclaimed the man. "Don't stop!"

"But… Gunther!" began Eren, but was caught off when he spotted someone. "W-who's there?!"

"Damn it!" exclaimed Olou. "What do we do?! Eld, any ideas?! There isn't any time to reach the horse or alert the others!"

"Keep pushing forward!" exclaimed Eld. "Get to HQ!"

As they pushed on, Olou turned back. "Is that the Female Titan, or is there more than one?!"

But unfortunately for the girl, Petra was rather pissed at the death of Gunther. "Darn you… how dare you?!"

Whirling around, she yelled at their pursuer, her eyes burning with rage.

"Come at me!" she challenged, her voice sounding almost as pissed as Mika when he was mad. Almost. "I'll defeat you, even if it KILLS me!"

Hearing her, the one pursuing them suddenly stopped pursuing, instead halting his or her swinging and falling back behind a tree.

* * *

 **A couple minutes (about 15) prior**

Zipping through the forests, the Mikazuki gracefully weaved the Barbatos around the massive trees, which was easier than usual thanks to the Alaya Vijnana. As he went on, he noticed a blue flare being shot into the air. Deducing who shot it quickly, Mika veered the Barbatos towards it, until another Flare was shot up. This one was green, meaning 'change of directions'. And within a second, the flare was relayed.

Now, Mika wasn't a formation kinda kid, but he was smart enough to know that no dumbass would fire a flare _behind_ everyone. Huffing, Mika quickly made out that this was a trap set for the S.O.S and went towards where it was fired, boosters at top speed.

* * *

 **Back with the S.O.S**

"Just as I thought!" exclaimed Eld, widening his eyes as the one who made the lightning emerged from the dust it created. "The Female Titan!"

And this time, it sprinted with every fiber of it's being, like a gosh darn sprinter who was running for his or her life, with a Xenomorph coming behind em.

"Damn you…" muttered Eren, glancing back at it. "This time I'll finish you!"

And at that, he got ready to bite his finger, but Eld turned to him. "Eren, no!"

Turning to him, Eren looked at the man in shock, but his expression stayed hard. "We will kill, or at least slow down, the Female Titan! Get away from here and to HQ!"

But Eren, being Eren, wasn't willing to leave. "But I can fight too! I don't need to-"

"Jaeger!" exclaimed Eld. "This isn't about pride anymore! It's about survival! So suck it up, or you'll die!"

"Besides, you're doubting us now?!" demanded Olou, his pride clearly showing.

"Do you… Eren?" asked Petra. "Do you find it that hard to trust us?"

Hearing this, Eren blank in shock at the question given to him. He trusted team Levi, probably more than he should've.

Grunting, Eren lowered his arm and whirled around. "I'll go!"

Seeing the boy go forward made Olou grin a little before the trio turned back to face this threat.

Giving a battle cry, Eld went towards it, both arms up. The Female Titan swung an arm at him, but at the last minute, Eld launched a wire to the side, avoiding the hand.

On cue, both Olou and Petra swung right by Eld and latched their wires right below it's eyes. The Female Titan's eyes widened as the duo came right at it and slashed both eyes, blinding it.

'We took it's sight, so for at least a minute, it should be seeing total darkness!' thought Eld. Gritting his teeth, the man swung towards it. And both Petra and Olou seemed to read his mind.

They were all done with trying to capture it.

They were gonna kill it, right here, right now.

As if it knew about their plan, the Titan stepped back to a tree, it's back against it and both arms on its nape. Huffing, Eld turned to his comrades and signaled for them to strike it's arms.

The two nodded subtly before launching themselves fancily into the air, before blasting down and creating two massive gashes in it's arms.

'We'll shear off so much of your muscles on your shoulders, you won't even be able to keep them up!' thought Eld.

And at that, many more slashes were made. After the thirtieth was made, the arms finally went down.

"They're down!" exclaimed Olou.

"Now!" exclaimed Eld. "The neck! Shear the muscles of the neck off!"

"Then it will all be over!" exclaimed Petra.

Blasting towards it, Eld held both swords firmly and was about to strike the nape, ready to end the Titan.

Until the eye suddenly shot open.

"ELD!" exclaimed Petra, before the man flew right into the Female Titan's mouth. And with a chomp, Eld was split in two. The bottom half fell onto the floor, and the top was spat out of the mouth.

Looking on in horror, Petra nearly dropped but activated her gear, which pushed her up a little, long enough to fire a wire in front of her. "H-HOW?! It can't possibly see! It hasn't even been thirty seconds!"

But she then noticed a blue orb in the right eye. "Only one eye?! Prioritizing only one eye to accelerate its healing…"

"Petra, quit doddling and run!" exclaimed Olou, before the Female Titan came after her.

Looking in shock, Petra was overcome with fear, unable to move a single muscle as the Titan picked up the pace, closing the gap in between the two. When it was close, it leapt into the air, it's foot about to come down at Petra.

"Petra!" exclaimed Olou, looking at the woman in horror.

However, by some unknown miracle, the foot landed mere inches away from Petra. Despite her extremely lucky outcome, however, the shockwave of the slam caused Ral to fly out of control and roll extremely painfully onto the floor. The fall earned her several deep cuts, scars and knocked her unconscious, but for the most part, she was alive.

For the most part, anyways. Olou and Eren, on the other hand, thought she was dead. Eren only screamed in terror, while Olou widened his eyes, before he gritted his teeth, almost to the point where he turned them into dust.

Firing a wire right at the nape, Olou reeled himself in.

"Oi…" he said softly. "Die!"

And with a quick slash, Olou sliced the nape, only to find both blades broken. Looking back, he saw that the nape was behind some sort of crystal.

"How…" muttered Olou, pretty much half shocked at this point. "My blades didn't pierce it…"

And those were his last words, before he was slammed aside by the leg of the FT.

And there is was, standing over the bodies of two dead S.O.S members and one severely wounded one. The last one up was an easy target. Turning, the FT saw Eren, his eyes widened and radiating with pure terror.

And suddenly, the terror was replaced by true anger.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" exclaimed Jaeger, before he bit his hand.

And almost instantly, lightning came flying down, engulfing Jaeger and blinding the FT a little.

* * *

So loud that the Corps up front could hear. Particularly Mikasa, as she whirled her head around.

"Eren!" she muttered, despite the exclamation mark. Without thinking too much, Ackerman turned and went for where the roar came from, leaving her partner, Sasha, and those around her shocked.

"W-wait, what?! Mikasa?!" exclaimed Sasha, but it was pretty much too late, as Ackerman was already gone.

* * *

"That roar…" muttered Levi, looking to where the lightning struck. Huffing, the man immediately took a U turn and swung to where it came from.

* * *

And from within the lightning emerged the 'Rogue' Titan from Trost, eyes burning with anger as he landed a good way in front of our Female one, roaring EXTREMELY loudly. But despite this new threat, the Female Titan did not waver, instead flashing it's creepy smirk.

Finally, a fair fight!

* * *

 **Probably not my best work, but heeeeey. It's pretty hard to write a story with IBO and SNK. I mean, it would have been easier if I used that dumbass called Eren and his two friends.**

 **Also, before you ask, I do not like Eren. Dude's waaaaaay to focused on avenging his mama. And honestly, it's his fault for the death of Thomas, Nac, Mylius and Mina, so I think I have the right to hate him since he killed three of my personal favorite characters.**

 **Yes. My favorite characters barely have screen time and were killed very quickly. Fite me.**

 **Also, trust me when I said that I had to rewrite this multiple times, so I'm sure it won't make too much sense. Probably gonna rewrite it sometime soon. No promises because I'm piss poor at keeping them.**

 **On some other updates, I'll probably edit a few chapters, most likely C15 and 16, and probably an entire rewrite of C1. It's gonna be a long year of writing.**

 **And yes Petra is surviving, because… reasons.**

 **On a side note, I am thinking, thinking, of a harem for Mika. I'd like your input though. I'm thinking Mina, Annie, maaaaybe Petra and the classic pair of Atra and Kudelia, because Atra DESERVES Mika. I mean, at first it was an afterthought, but after ep 50 of IBO, I really think that Augus fucking _DESERVES_ a harem.**

 **Hanji can go cuddle with Levi if she wants. According to my friend, Petra and Levi ain't too popular. But Eren and Levi… oh man.**

 **Also, and this was updated in on 3/5/2017 btw, I'm not dead! You can stop the celebration now. Anyways, I'd like to say that if you are expecting the Barbatos Lupus Rex in this… tough luck.**

 **But anyways, I'll see you guys next chapter, or in that other story I'm working on.**

 **I wonder how Mika would react to 2B…**

 **My God. I'm tired… I'm gonna go lay down and play Just Cause 2 because I don't have Just Cause 3.**


	22. Jaegers and Females

**Mr Stryker (I'm like 15 years old so I dunno if that'll work) has returned! I dunno if you're happy or not. Anyways! We're at the end of the Female Titan arc… sorta anyways. I've got some extras prepped for the end anyways.**

 **So yes, enjoy, or try to, whichever you prefer to do. Also the previous was updated quite a lot too, at least the bottom half anyways. Read it if you want.**

* * *

 **Titan forests (or whatever you call it. I call it Titan forests for some lols)**

In the middle of the forests, both the 'Rogue' and 'Female' Titans, IE Eren and… whoever the Female was (no, I'm not revealing her identity just yet just in case someone hasn't watched AoT yet) faced each other. Eren was in a defensive stance, while the Female simply stood there, looking at him.

With the gracefulness of Orga when he was drunk, Eren shot his left arm forward, though the Fem-Titan dodged it easily, both her arms flinging around like ragdolls. Three more punches, and three more dodges. On the fourth, the Fem T dodged backwards and sprinted back, buying time for her arms to heal.

With a growl, Eren leapt forward, both arms blasting towards the Female-T. The impact pushed her back, and though she kept on her feet, she was a little off balanced by the push. Eren took this chance to swing at her six times, the last one pushing the FT off balance, long enough for Jaeger to pin her down on the floor. Totally not sexual. Nuh ah.

Raising an arm, Eren launched it right at the FT's head, which she dodged by jerking her head to the left, causing Eren's fist to hit the rock hard ground. The impact broke his entire arm, and probably hurt a lot. He didn't seem to mind, though, since he punched again, this time breaking his wrist.

' _I'll kill you…'_ thought the boy within the nape, glaring at the FT as his hands healed, since he couldn't time a punch that well. We've all been there, punching the floor or wall by accident, or purposely just to see if we're Superman.

' _I'll rip you apart…'_

Yeah… that's pretty normal for Jaeger.

' _And eat you!'_

Wait, what?

And that was, in fact, his Titan senses kicking in. most likely due to his primal rage. This gave the FT enough time to break free from Eren's grasp and grab his wrist. That seemed to snap Jaeger out of it, since he punched at her face, a strike which the FT dodged by simply moving her neck forward, getting the fist behind her, well… neck.

And with a fancy spin kick, she kicked Eren right into a tree and left her back facing him. When she turned, Jaeger's fist was rather near her head, and she just narrowly dodged it. Another strike knocked her down again, though she did manage to trip Jaeger as well. But, while she landed right on her butt, Jaeger quickly recovered and ran right at her.

As he threw a punch at her, the FT's human widened her Titan's eyes, surprised at how well Jaeger was keeping up with her. Though, unlike most other people, she was able to multitask quite easily, and she dodged the fist coming at her.

And once more, the FT dodged about… five punches? When Eren threw his sixth, the FT didn't just dodge, she counterattacked.

Jerking her body to the side, the Female avoided the punch before crystallizing her left fist. And with a powerful left hook, she gave Eren the meanest punch of a lifetime, breaking right through that jaw of his and obliterating that pointy chin of his.

Yet, he wasn't out yet. Ignoring the pain in his jaw, Eren turned his attention to the FT, his teeth grazing against the crystal on her arm, before he slammed his fist right into her stomach. The punch sent her flying backwards and towards a tree.

Seeing his opportunity, Jaeger sprinted forward, wanting to give the FT the most painful knee strike she's ever had. And as she seems to do all the time, the FT dodged, and Eren's knee crashed against the tree. And it probably hurt a lot, since Eren did stop for a moment to catch his breath.

As the two combatants took a little… timeout, the Female heard an odd noise. She knew what it was, and she really didn't want it to ruin this. After all, if the darn thing which was on its way could fight the Armoured to a standstill, so there was almost no doubt that it could completely obliterate her.

Straightening up, the FT turned back to Eren, who was almost finished healing up from his wounds. Now, he was facing her, eyes enraged and tongue out, probably because his jaw was still repairing.

And with a powerful ninja arm slice motion, the FT severed his entire head, not to mention the tree next to him. Trust me when I say that it's hard to describe what that motion was… but it was cool though. But what you really need to know is that the FT got rid of Eren's head.

Without his head, Eren's Titan body dropped down to it's knees, unable to defend itself from the Female Titan. Walking over to Jaeger, the Titan knelt by his Titan's body and did something… interesting.

She began opening her mouth, intent on pulling Eren out of there. When her mouth was at it's maximum extent, she forced it to open wider, and the sides of her lips tore apart.

 **Shivers** aurg.

Anyways, with a chomp, she bit the nape and pulled the skin off, exposing a barely conscious Eren inside.

"EREN!" came a female's voice, and though the Fem-T didn't see who it was, she knew that it was Mikasa, seeing as the lady was extremely protective of Jaeger. It didn't really surprise her that she was here.

Yet, as fast as she was, she didn't come in time to stop the FT from biting down on Jaeger and pulling him from his Titan body. When the deed was done, the FT started sprinting off, leaving behind a traumatized Mikasa.

"W-wait… Eren…" came Mikasa's horrified voice. "Don't go…"

And within the second, her expression went from sad as slag to… fucking _**PISSED OFF**_.

Launching a wire forward, she flew after the FT, who simply looked back.

Narrowing her eyes, Mikasa raised both her blades. "GIVE ME BACK MY BROTHER!"

With a clean shot, she fired a wire right And right when those words were said, her expression went from horrified to… how does Stryker put hison it's cheek, and despite the FT grabbing it and swinging her forward, she stayed upright. And with amazing speed, she carved out many wounds right in it's skin.

Despite it's best efforts, The FT failed to grab her as she made many indents in her.

"GIVE HIM BACK!" she exclaimed, before making a deep wound inside the FT, causing her to go down. Seeing an opportunity, Mikasa launched herself at the FT, slicing it's hand, only for her blades to shatter on a pound or two of crystal.

Launching and latching herself up onto a tree, she glared down at it. "Why don't my blades penetrate…" she asked herself. "I know that… I know that he's still in there!"

Unsheathing another blade, Mikasa glared entire cannonballs into the FT as it stood up. "And I will get him out, even if it costs me my life!"

And with that said, the FT swung her arm at Mikasa. The girl dodged, ready to counter, until a secondary force pulled her away.

"What?!" exclaimed Mikasa, her teeth gritted beyond belief at this point. And imagine her surprise when she saw Levi.

"Fall back," he ordered, glaring at her.

"But!-" began Mikasa, before Levi hushed her.

"Don't worry, we have another plan," he assured, letting her go and whirling around. "Maintain this distance from it."

"Why?!" exclaimed Mikasa.

"Because backup is on its way," replied Levi, and right as he said that, a massive blast was heard. Looking back, Mikasa widened her eyes as she saw what was coming.

"Barbatos…" she muttered as it blasted right past her, feet mere inches above the ground and moving at a speed which would put even the best Maneuver Gear to shame. With a powerful swing, it sent the Wrench Mace diagonally, and the Female-T realized it only when it was too late.

And the Wrench slammed into it with the force of multiple megaton warheads… that's probably an exaggeration but go with it… sending the large woman flying sideways. Mikasa only gasped, hoping that Eren was not hurt.

"Eren!" she yelled, about to go forward, but Levi stopped her. "What are you doing?!"

"Stopping you from killing yourself," replied Levi, landing on a tall branch, and forcing Mikasa to do the same.

"What do you mean?!" she exclaimed.

"Mikazuki has no intention of letting this thing live," he replied. "And he knows that Jaeger is inside."

"You mean…"

"Yes, he will get Eren out," said Levi. "And when he's done, he'll kill it."

* * *

 **Somehow I got this up within a day. That's an achievement right there. This one's probably gonna be edited, like every other chapter I got up.**

 **So yes! Have that cliffhanger!**

 **If you read the updated previous chapter, then I think you'll understand this one more, maybe. My writing ain't that good.**

 **Also, 61 favorites and 64 follows?! How'd that happen?!**

 **I know that that's a good thing, but trust me when I say that it makes me nervous, since, as I probably said a few chapters ago, the more favs/follows you got, the more pressure you'll feel since everyone has different tastes.**

 **On a side note, I dunno how I haven't got a hate comment. Kinda weird.**

 **Oh! And also, I'm thinking of bringing back up a story I took down a month or two ago, and am planning two other stories. One of the two is a suggestion from a friend too.**

 **An, regarding… uh… can I call you Dave? Well if I can, Guest reviewer, I'll call you that. Anyways, Dave, you kinda predicted the future. I was gonna do one romance at a time! YOU'RE A WIZARD!**

 **Anyways, I'll be getting that other story up… tomorrow. Ave a good day.**

 **Also, if you want me to change my profile picture back to Elsword... no. The Atra animation error is perfect!**


	23. Blood and Titans

**Before I start, lemme just say that this was pretty complicated to write. I mean, it's kinda hard to get a 18.8 metre Gundam Frame built to fight stuff whose sole purpose was to destroy mankind (which was also armed with a beam cannon) to fight a Titan Shifter who can harden her skin.**

 **Seems like a rather uneven fight...**

 **Anyhoo, enjoy!**

* * *

Atop the tree they were perched on, Mikasa and Levi Ackermen stared down, their Survey Corp cloaks flowing with the wind as they stared down at the Gundam Barbatos, who was standing defiantly against the Female Titan, it's green eyes glowing bright.

The Female Titan, on the other hand, was Petrafied (hehehe). She hoped that the Gundam would have been with his comrades, seeing as he was so protective of them, but apparently he was willing to leave them if absolutely needed.

In her head, she knew that she couldn't fight this thing and needed to run. If she could give Mika and the sensors of the Barbatos the slip, which was near impossible thanks to the combination of the Alaya Vijnana and sensor units, she could do so.

Within the cockpit, Mika looked at the thing, his eyes showing the uncommon reflection of anger. It was easy to miss if you didn't pay attention as Mika was almost never angry (the only times I could remember was in the last episode of S1 and the MA battle), but to the more observant ones., but he was definitely mad.

All because of what this Titan did to the S.O.S.

* * *

 _ **Several minutes prior**_

 _Slowing down the Barbatos, Mikazuki arrived at where the lightning presumably struck down. Which he had evidence for, as the floor was charred. Turning the head units left and right, Mika saw no indication of Titans, only some blood._

 _But that changed when he looked down, and saw the top half of Eld. The blood on his Survey Corp jacket suggested that he was killed recently as it was still in a mostly liquid state, according to the Barbatos' scanners anyways._

 _And that was when the Barbatos' audio receptors picked up a subtle sound. Turning the Barbatos by the waist unit, Mika zoomed in on a slight figure which was still breathing. Zooming in, he did finch when he saw._

 _"Petra?" muttered Mika, hovering the Barbatos towards her as fast as he could, surprised at how concerned his voice sounded. But he dismissed it as he knelt the Barbatos down and opened the cockpit unit._

 _When it was open, Mika hopped out of his unit and landed next to Petra's unconscious body. And once again, he was surprised as how relieved he was when he found out that the woman was alive._

 _As he checked on the woman, Mika heard the sound of a Maneuver Gear coming from behind him. Turning around, Mika promptly reached into his pocket and grabbed his pistol, until he realized it was Levi and placed it back in his pocket as the man landed next to the boy._

 _"Augus," greeted Levi, glancing down at Ral. He apparently thought she was dead, until he noticed that the woman was breathing. "Where's Jaeger?"_

 _Mika was about to reply with an 'I don't know', but the sound of a tree being tumbled (or getting sliced along with the head of Eren, whichever you prefer) caught their attention._

 _"Yeah… nevermind," said Levi, before the sound of another Maneuver Gear was heard, and the Corp they know as Mikasa Ackerman went past them, apparently not noticing the Barbatos as she zipped by, her expression showing worry, most likely for Jaeger._

 _"I'm guessing that they're that way," said Levi, pointing to the right. "Come on."_

 _"Ah," said Mika, before he glanced at Petra. "You go on ahead."_

 _"What about you?" asked Levi as Mika loaded a purple flare._

 _"I will catch up," he said. "Now go."_

 _Nodding slowly, Levi zipped off as Mika boarded the Barbatos and picked up Petra with a manipulator before placing her on a branch in case a bastard Titan decided to come by. He didn't need to worry about Eld (and to that extent, Olou and Gunther, but Mika didn't care much for Olou, and if he did, he didn't notice him. And he didn't bump into Gunther on his way here)._

 _He would have placed her in the cockpit with him, but that would have impeded his movement._

 _When he was done, Mika turned and fired up the thrusters and blasted forward after Ackerman._

* * *

 **Anyways, back to reality**

And with our little flashback done, Mika narrowed his eyes by a fraction of a centimetre and kicked down on the boosters, sending the Barbatos flying, surprising Mikasa and shocking the Female Titan, who had no time to react when the Gundam body slammed and boost tackled into her.

After a second of dragging her with the tackle, Mika powered down the thrusters, sending the Female Titan back a little. And to boot, Mika sent the Barbatos' left leg unit at her abdomen.

(Just imagine that first scene in the Barbatos vs Graze Ein battle where Mika pushed the Ein back and kicks him)

Unfortunately, like the Graze Ein, the Female Titan was a lot quicker in terms of reaction speed and strength, at least when compared to other mindless Titans,and was able to steady herself. And thanks to this increased RS and strength, it was able to dodge a fatal downswing from the Wrench Mace by leaping to the right.

Unfortunately, she didn't expect the Wrench Mace to not slam into the ground. Instead, it hovered a few inches from the floor before the mace shifted ninety degrees and came at her, slamming into the Female Titan's torso and sending the large woman flying.

While the Gundam pummeled the thing, Mikasa and Levi watched the battle from a distance, a little awestruck at how tough it was. More so Levi, as he hasn't seen the thing in action before, unlike Mikasa, who did see it battling on more than a few occasions.

Even so, she was surprised at how… almost animalistic it fought. If it lost it's grip on the Wrench Mace, which only happened about twice, it would use it's sharpened fingers, almost claws, to battle. And as if on cue, the Barbatos pulled back it's left manipulator and slammed it into the Female Titan's abdomen.

It may have been something to do with the Alaya system, or the fact that the Barbatos' optics would have the colour red bleeding through them every few second.

Or it may be because Mika was in a foul mood.

But despite this more primal method of battle, she did notice that the strikes were also placed in specific places like the the arms, legs or neck, most likely because he didn't intend to hurt Jaeger.

As she wondered, Mika kept his gaze on the Female Titan, noticing that she never opened her mouth. And that made him assume that Jaeger was in the mouth. I mean, was there any other place to stuff him in. She didn't poke her eye out and stuff him in or stick him in her nose. And Titans don't have any bumholes, so she couldn't do that drug thing where you stuff things up your butt to get them on a plane.

Anyways, moving away from talking about how to smuggle drugs, Mika was wondering if there was a practical way to get Eren out of there. The easiest way was to just destroy the entire head, but that would probably leave Eren dead, or at least hideously mangled. And Mikasa wouldn't like that.

It wasn't because he feared her, more because Mika respected her enough to keep her bro in one piece, and if he did accidentally kill him Mikazuki would have to deal with an annoyance for the rest of his life here.

And that was when he remembered the Ackermen. Knocking back the Female Titan with a tough smack with the front of the Mace, Mika turned the Barbatos back and activated the communication units. "Levi, Mikasa," he said, his voice suggesting something. "On my command, the sides of the mouth."

While the Female Titan got back up, trying to find an opening to use to escape, Levi simply nodded. Mikasa took a while to think about what he said, before nodding herself. When he got their confirmation, he turned the Barbatos back and held the Mace with both of its manipulators in an offensive stance.

And with a quick slam with the front end of the Wrench Mace, he slammed the Female Titan into a tree. Before she recovered, he split the Mace and clamped down on the waist and arms of the Titan, trapping her there. "Now!"

And from the sides of the Barbatos came both Levi and Mikasa who zipped by it, making the Female Titan's eyes widen. And with quick but cautious and precise slices, they sliced the sides of the Female Titan's mouth, making the jaw drop down as though it were boneless, revealing an unconscious Eren.

"Levi, get him out," ordered Mika. "I'll keep it here."

"On it," replied Levi, zipping onto the mouth and grabbing Jaeger off the slimy tongue. "Your brother needs a bath."

"I know," growled Mikasa as Levi zipped off. Before she followed, she turned to the Barbatos, who simply glared at the Female Titan with those green eyes, which still bled red every so often. "What about Mikazuki?"

"He can handle himself," said Levi. "Now that Eren is out of the picture, he can fight with his full strength now."

And as he said that, the right arm unit of the Barbatos pulled back before shooting forward, slamming into the female Titan's head. The impact pulverised her head and broke the tree she was stuck on, sending her flying back.

"So come, Ackerman…" muttered Levi as he zipped forward a little faster. "We need to move."

And as they left, the Barbatos gave the Female Titan a punch to the head which destroyed the tree and sent her flying back. As the Titan slowly recovered, Mika noticed that the two Corps were gone. Once they were far enough, Mika took a deep breath in.

"That's more like it…" he whispered, a predatory smirk appearing on his face. "Now, let's do this, Barbatos."

And with that, the Barbatos' optics flashed a brilliant bright green, even brighter than the battle of Edmonton. But thanks to Mika being used to this amount of power flowing into him, he did not bleed out too much, merely having a slight trickle of blood flow down his nose.

* * *

Raising an eyebrow, the Female Titan, who was now in an offensive/defensive stance, glared at the Barbatos. Suddenly, the Gundam seemed to start convulsing, the joints twitching as the waist arced back. Stepping back in slight fear, the Female Titan's human thought it was reminiscent of a procession. But after a while, it stopped and stayed still.

Not moving.

Perhaps if she attacked now, it could buy her enough time to escape. And after she gathered enough courage, she tried to land a kick with her left leg, but the arm sprung up and blocked the strike before the head unit slowly shifted up, and those green optics bored right into her soul.

And that was when the real pain started.

Instead of pushing aside the leg, the Barbatos grabbed the limb before slamming it's elbow unit onto it. And if Eren did it, it would have been a simple bone snap, but since the Barbatos is probably two hundred times tougher Eren, it ripped the entire leg off, knee down.

Widening her eyes in terror, the Female Titan hobbled back, before the Barbatos struck her with a strike to the chest with the Wrench Mace, sending her flying back against another tree, since they're so many here.

Hobbling up, the Female Titan focused all regenerating abilities in her left leg as she hopped backwards as the Gundam blasted towards her. And that green glow in it's optics was so intense that it left a trail of light as it moved.

* * *

Zipping by the Forests, Levi and Mikasa Ackermen made sure to glance back every so often just in case the Barbatos failed. Cradled in Levi's arms was Eren himself, unconscious and covered in slob.

After a short while, Levi landed on a branch at where the S.O.S were massacred. There, he placed Jaeger down and began to look for something atop a branch, all while Mikasa stared at him.

Finally, he found the person he was looking for. Still unconscious, with beads of sweat coming down her poor, youthful face, Petra sat there on her branch, leaning against the tree. Quickly, Levi zipped up at her and knelt by the woman, silently thanking the Gods that she was alive.

Before he could do anything, however, a loud boom was heard. Turning, the Ackermen saw that the battle between the Barbatos and Female Titan was apparently getting a little intense, as clouds of dust began to kick up, most likely caused by the Gundam as the FT wasn't that strong, and the ground began shaking intensely.

"Heichou!" came a voice from behind them, making the two glance back to see Sys, Coral and Kyle. "Gracias a los dioses, estás vivo!"

"Ah…" muttered Levi, confused at what the man say, as Coral landed next to him.

"Whoa… what happened here…?" asked the man named after the thing which grows underwater. And after a second, he realized what happened. "Did the Titan…"

"Yes… yes it did," replied Levi, before motioning to Petra. "It only left one survivor."

"She's lucky," stated Kyle.

"Sí…" muttered Sys. "But where is-"

"Mikazuki Augus?" finished Levi. Sys nodded, and the ground shook even more when he did. "There's your answer."

"He is fighting the perra que mató a nuestros hombres?" asked Sys.

"If you're referring to the Female Titan, then yes," said Levi as a stray 170mm bullet came past them and struck a tree. "Alright, we have to move! Sys, get the remains of Eld, Coral, get Petra out of here, Kyle, grab Olou. I'll go back for Gunther."

"HAI!"

* * *

 **Back with our combatants**

It turns out that fighting the Barbatos with two legs made almost no difference.

After her leg regenerated, the FT thought that things would be at least a tiny bit easier, but it wasn't. It was just as tough, maybe tougher, to avoid the Gundam's/Mika's strikes as she had to watch for another limb.

As she thought that, the Babatos leapt at her, Wrench Mace held over it's head and ready to strike. Luckily, for the Titan, the FT was able to roll out of the way, avoiding the strike which would have destroyed her body.

When the Barbatos landed, it kicked up a ton of dust, enveloping the Gundam. The Female Titan took this as a chance to escape and turned to sprint off, until a claw-like object latched onto her back. Turning her head, she saw a wire coming from the dust attached to her back (basically the Barbatos Lupus Rex's sub arm claws attached to a wire).

And with a sudden force, she was pulled towards the dust. And when she was about ten metres away, the Barbatos came out and rocketed it's right manipulator clenched into a fist at her. And she did notice the Autocannon segment on the floor, apparently detached to serve as a wire claw.

Yet, at the last moment, the Female Titan ducked under the manipulator. Lowering his brows, Mika blasted the left thrusters and whirled the Barbatos around, the left manipulator balled into a fist.

And about two seconds before the manipulator collided, the FT whirled around and slammed her right fist into the Gundam's, and when the two made contact, a massive shockwave was created.

Widening his eyes a bit and letting a small "hoh" escape his lips, Mika raise his eyebrow before he noticed that the entire right arm, parts of her waist and legs were encased in a crystal material. He had no clue what it was, but it was tough enough to stop the Barbatos' punch, which was impressive as most items would have simply bent or dented.

After a short stalemate with the Titan, Mika huffed before he pushed the crystal encased arm up and powered up the right leg thrusters. The Female Titan seemed to notice, as the crystals on it's body fell off and it leapt back, though it wasn't fast enough to avoid the leg unit which slammed into her abdomen and sent her into a large rock structure.

However, the Titan was able to crystallize her abdomen and avoid fatal damage. Though the expression she gave as it fell away told Mika that she was either hurt quite a lot from the strike or that it took a lot of energy to make those crystals.

But he dismissed those thoughts quickly as he picked up the Wrench Mace, which was lodged in the ground thanks to the downslam he performed earlier. It was pretty securely lodged in there, mainly because Mika used the 'spiked' section, but he got it out with a good jerk (not that jerk, you perv).

Turning the Barbatos, Mika gripped the Wrench Mace underhandedly as he stomped his Gundam over to the Female Titan. And before it could react, the Gundam slammed the Mace into her left arm before she could crystallize. And it made the FT make a noise which was similar to a roar of pain.

And before the Titan could try and retaliate, Mika slammed the Barbatos' foot unit into her abdomen, leaving a large mark in the area. And after a second, the FT tried pushing it off with her right arm, though it didn't even shift an inch.

As it tried it's best to escape, Mika simply stared down at this oversized lady. This Titan was the one responsible for killing the members of his team. And while Mika cares most for friends, anyone who even dared to cut a team member would soon pay.

And that mentality stayed the same, even for Titans who were humans.

Pulling back the Barbatos' arm unit, Mika pulled the Longsword off it's back and held it firmly in the Barbatos' manipulator. When he did, he noticed the FT's eyes widen a tiny bit. And it looked down, defeated.

This was either a mind game, or maybe it was really defeated. Either way, Mika was not willing to let it live. Raising the Longsword, the Barbatos held it underhanded and got ready to stab right through the neck and into the nape, until the head suddenly shot up and the jaw opened.

And it gave out a loud ass scream. So loud that Mika recoiled a little and held his ears. The scream was so loud that it even alerted those from the formation and Levi's small 'team'.

When it was over, Mika shook his head a little and raised an eyebrow at the FT, wondering what it was, last… words? A 'distress signal'? Whatever it was, Mika didn't care, regripping the Wrench Mace, until the floor rumbled.

Pivoting the Barbatos by the waist, Mika raised his brows in amusement as several Titans came at him.

Glancing at the FT, Mika deduced that she scream had something to do with this. But he pushed that thought to the back of his mind as he ripped the Wrench Mace out of the FT's shoulder, sheathed the Longsword and assumed a defensive stance.

Until a 3 metre Titan went straight under the Barbatos' leg units and leapt onto the Female Titan. And within a minute, it sunk it's teeth into her body. Raising his brows a little, Mika sat in the cockpit, a little baffled as more Titans rushed past the Gundam, eager to feast.

Huffing, Mika simply nodded as they devoured their fellow Titan. It was probably best if he left, seeing as the Titan was pretty much defeated by now. But as he turned the Barbatos, Mika did notice something which perked his brows up.

A small tear sliding down the Female Titan's cheek.

It did surprise him a bit, but he dismissed it as he blasted back to the formation, picking up the Autocannon unit on the way and leaving the Female Titan to her fate.

Though he did miss the Titan's nape falling apart in the chaos, revealing a blonde female who zipped out of the chaos with her Maneuver Gear.

* * *

 **AUUUUUURG.**

 **Alright, this one took way too long. As I said up there in the intro, it was extremely hard to get the Gundam Barbatos to fight the Female Titan without absolutely destroying her. Don't worry though… there's some other fights including Augus and the Female somewhere up the road.**

 **Also, to Ibitmytongue (you don't mind me calling you that right?), that little error was by accident. I was editing the darn chapter and forgot to get rid of that part where it said 'Olou lives'. Also, I'm not really gonna stop rewriting since it's something I do too often. And yes, you did kinda spoil the thing, since I haven't seen S2 yet.**

 **And to... Guest, I'm not intending to make any other IBO X other universe anytime soon. This one is enough work for me.**

 **Anyways, see you?**

 **And on a side note, this was edited on 19/5/2017. Yes. I edited this a day after I uploaded it. Whacha gonna do about it?**


	24. Returning home

**Some notes down below**

 **Within the outskirts of Maria**

* * *

Within Wall Maria's inner circle, the Survey Corps deployed to… well… Survey the area rushed around the area, trying to organise the chaos or pack up the bodies of their deceased comrades, all courtesy of the Female Titan before the Barbatos got to it.

While they did so, several of the Corps with more skill stood on lookout, making sure the Titans stayed away. And for the most part, they did, and every nearby Titan seemed to ignore them, instead rushing to the northern sector of Maria, where the Titan Forests were at.

At first, Hanji requested that they investigate, but the loud boom, and the slight tremor shortly afterwards, of the Wrench Mace slamming the floor caused her to reconsider. And besides, Erwin wasn't gonna let her, as the amount of Titans which seemed to be heading there was a little absurd, and their formation, with how many of them were left, would make this a suicide mission.

And besides, Mika had this handled, as evident by the 3m Titan which was sent flying out of the forest and over the Walls of Maria. Quite the homerun.

After a short while of waiting, a few Corps from the back, mainly the juniors, heard some hoofbeats in the distance. Two seniors jogged towards the source, while four seniors, with Hanna and Jurgen, unsheathed their blades just in case this was the Female Titan.

And they cracked some smiles when they saw that it was Levi, alongside the Corps sent to assist him. But their smiles faded when they saw that they were holding.

The bodies of the S.O.S. Dead bodies, to be precise.

"Heichou…" muttered a Corp. "What…"

"Female Titan," cut off Levi, glaring at him as he held Gunther's lifeless body in his arms. "Mina, Armin, Jean, help get these bodies into some bags."

"Hai!" proclaimed the group.

While most of the group wrapped the bodies of the S.O.S, Mina knelt by Eld's corpse with a grim look on her face. As she looked at him solemnly, Armin wrapped Gunther's in a bodybag.

"I thought I'd get used to it…" muttered Mina after some time, making Armin glance at her. "That death would be easier to handle after the battle of Trost…"

"It never does," replied Armin, making Mina look at him with rather glassy eyes.

"... how will my friends die?" asked Mina as she began wrapping Eld's body in a bag. "How am I going to die… painfully and slowly? Tt's all I can think about when we're out here…"

"Well…" said Armin, giving her a slight smile. "I try not to dwell on it. If I imagine how I'm going to die, I doubt I'd be able to find the sprite I need to keep on fighting."

Raising an eyebrow, Mina was surprised at that reply as she never really suspected that Armin was the type to jolt up someone's sprite, since it was usually him which needed the motivation. But still, she didn't mind. Nac was with Levi, assisting him in patching up Petra, so he wasn't able to give her some motivation unless he had telepathic powers.

"Yeah," she replied, smiling. "You're right."

Anyways, over by the side, Nac looked over Petra thoroughly (not _that_ thoroughly), though it was a little awkward, partly because Petra was a woman, an _unconscious_ one at that. And also, Levi was eyeing him like a Titan eyeing a human. It was rather uncomfortable for the junior.

After about, ten minutes, Nac bandaged up Petra's forehead. He would have bandaged her abdomen, but Levi stopped him and demanded that Hanji do it. She did, and when she asked why, Levi told her to gtfo before he got the Barbatos to stomp her. She, oddly enough, didn't object too much to that, so it took the entire rear of the formation to drive her off.

"I never thought your team would be taken out," said Nac sadly, turning his head to Jurgen and Dieter who carried the body of Olou towards a wagon. "That the best would be killed."

"That mentality is something you want to get rid of," said Levi, glancing at Nac, but not changing his emotion. To be fair, he almost never does. "Even the best will be killed in time."

"Yeah…" muttered Nac, closing his eyes and giving a soft sigh. "I just never thought that it'd be so soon…"

"Neither did I kid," agreed Levi, a little sadly. "Neither did I…"

A little further down the formation, Erwin spoke to a survey Corp with some wild hair.

Now as a side note, this I couldn't find his name, but since I'm fond of Side characters, I shall name this man Joe, unless you guys can tell me his actual name. Until then, he shall be Joe.

Anyways, 'Joe' told Erwin about their current progress in loading up the bodies and organizing the stuff.

"We're almost done," said Joe, looking at a clipboard which Mika fished out of the Barbatos' cockpit and gave the Corps before they left for the expedition They would have asked Hanji for one, but she wouldn't give. In any case, it's safe to say that the Barbatos had some things stuck in the cockpit unit.

Anyways, back to the story.

"Five bodies were not recovered," stated Joe, glancing at his clipboard. "They were lost when the Female Titan broke out."

"Not even parts of them?" asked Erwin.

"No," replied Joe, frowning. "It's probably better for the families if we _don't_ bring them back."

"...report them as missing," instructed Erwin.

"Yes sir," replied Joe, before moving onto another topic. "Rear scouts reported that several Titans were spotted near the forests. It might have something to do with that scream. Thankfully, none are coming our way yet."

"We move out, now," said Erwin immediately after. "Inform those behind."

"What of the Barbatos?" asked Joe, raising an eyebrow.

"The Gundam and it's pilot are able to survive outside," replied Erwin. "He will be fine."

"Very well," said Joe, before another boy's voice popped up.

"I refuse to accept this, Commander Erwin!" proclaimed the Corp, making the man turn his head back.

"Hey, you-" started Joe, before the Corp cut him off.

"We must recover them!" proclaimed the Corp known as Dieter. "Ivan's body was right in front of us!"

"There was a large group of Titans right next to it!" shot Joe. "If we tried to retrieve the bodies, we would have lost more men!"

"If they attack, we hit back!" retorted Dieter. "Is that not why we recruited Mikazuki Augus?!"

"Commander Erwin… please," pleaded his pal, Jurgen. "Dieter, Ivan and I are childhood friends from the same village… I know his parents… please! At the very least, his parents must have his body!"

While the two stared at Erwin desperately, they missed the arrival of Levi.

"Stop being selfish, you two," he ordered, a hand on his hip. "If you've confirmed that he's dead, then he's dead. And that won't change, whether or not you have his body. It changes nothing."

"That's…" began Jurgen.

"We will say that Ivan and the others are missing," stated Erwin. "That is final."

And with that, Smith and Ackerman walked towards the formation.

"Don't you two…" began Dieter, distraught at the fact that they didn't let them. "Possess any human feelings at all?!"

Despite his yell, Dieter got no response. Gritting his teeth, Dieter turned to Jurgen, who looked at him with wide eyes.

* * *

 **Several minutes prior**

Trotting towards the Walls of Karanes, the Formation kept an eye out for Titans in the area, not noting that two Survey Corps were missing.

In the back of the formation, 'Joe' (really what's his name?) made sure that the juniors stayed together. And for the most part, they did. Sys' team stuck together on a wagon alongside Petra's unconscious body, Mikasa sat on an opposite one, looking at Eren quietly, and several other Corps stayed close to them on horseback.

Yet, after some time, the group felt the earth beneath them shake intensely. And while not as intense as the Barbatos, it was still tough.

"What the-" muttered Hanna, raising her brows as Nac stood up on his wagon. Shielding his eyes, Nac looked towards where the noise came from, and widened them when he saw what made that shaking.

"Titans…" he muttered, before squinting. "And… are those… Dieter and Jurgen?!"

"Those two?!" proclaimed Joe. "I thought that Erwin told them no!"

"Guess not," said Nac as he loaded a green flare into his custom flare gun. Raising his arm, Nac shot the flare up, alerting the others.

"Come on!" proclaimed Wisty, a freckled female Corp with thick red hair. If you know which book this girl comes from, then props to you. Whirling her horse around, Wist charged back, flanked by two others.

I wonder if horrified can describe how Dieter and Jurgen felt. I mean, the two were probably horrified. Maybe even more so. I mean, you'd feel horrified if you're being chased by two humanoid 15 metre creatures.

Yet they did have a decent reason (sorta) for getting their attentions. On Dieter's back was the dead body of Ivan, limp and lifeless. And while Dieter was a little happy to retrieve his pal's body, that happiness was drowned out by the fear he felt at the moment.

"Dieter! Jurgen!" came a yell, and the two looked forward to see Wisteria, Whitford and Bryon charging their way on horseback. Once again, ten points if you know who these characters are.

Anyways, the trio was nearly at their position, until a Titan took a swipe at Dieter. Thankfully, the boy (or man, whatever his age is) ducked, though he lost Ivan's corpse in the process. Jurgen, on the other hand, was swiped off his horse by the opposing Titan.

"Jurgen!" proclaimed Dieter, eyes wide as his friend was picked up. Jumping off his horse, Dieter zipped up to assist while the second Titan pursuing them veered towards the Formation.

Gritting his teeth, Wisty sprung off her horse and launched a wire at the Titan's heels. It saw her coming and launched an arm at her, which she promptly dodged before slicing at it's ankles, causing it to land flat on it's face.

And before it even recovered, Whit leapt on the nape and slashed it. When he was done, he gave Wisty a thumbs up.

But as he stood over his second confirmed kill since becoming a Corp, he noticed the seven others which were coming their way from the east.

As if on cue, a red flare was shot up by Bryon, signaling incoming Titans.

Lifting Jurgen up to it's mouth, the Titan opened its jaw and was ready to eat the poor boy. As it did that, Dieter came whirling up, his wire latched onto the Titan's neck. But he was horrified to discover that he was a little slow, as Jurgen was nearly was nearly in it's mouth.

That was basically the end for him.

But before he was eaten, a sudden force, accompanied by a familiar looking weapon, was tossed at the Titan, sending it flying forward from the impact and losing it's grip on Jurgen. Zipping down, Dieter snatched his friend out of the air and landed clumsily, but hey, he still landed.

Yes, that's how much I value side characters. Don't ask me why I love em. I just do…

Anyhoo… as Dieter landed, he and Jurgen looked at where the Titan landed, and were astounded when they saw the Wrench Mace of the Barbatos, sticking out of the Titan it struck like a gravestone. Except the Titan itself was still alive and squirming.

Well, not for long anyways. Within a minute, the Barbatos came out of nowhere and jumped onto the Titan, landing right on it. And the impact decimated the entire thing, including the nape, kicking up _a ton_ of dust in the process.

Shielding their eyes, the Survey Corps were knocked back a little from the shockwave the Barbatos created when it landed, Hell even some wagons were pushed back. But for the most part, they kept up, weapons out just in case.

Suddenly, the Wrench Mace came out of the dust, dispelling the cloud and revealing the imposing figure of the Gundam Barbatos, standing in front of the Corps like a king protecting his subjects.

As it stood in front of them defensively, Dieter and Jurgen, now on horseback courtesy of Bryon, came towards them, with their heads lowered in shame. But Mika didn't seem to care, looking beyond them and at the approaching Titans.

"Go," ordered Mika when the group of five Corps were behind the ASW unit. "I'll hold them here."

Before the Corps even answered, the Barbatos' Land Boosters (yes, that's what the hip skirts are called, apparently) swiveled back. And firing the thrusters at full power, the Barbatos hovered forward, dragging the Wrench Mace behind it as though it was Pyramid Head, except he was holding the Wrench upwards instead of downwards.

And with a brutal upswing, the Barbatos swung the Wrench in between a Titan's legs, sending it flying up, and probably destroying its reproductive organs, if it had any. Before it even landed, the Barbatos swung the Mace at it, home running the Titan.

Once it was done, Mika picked up a slight signal behind the Barbatos. Not bothering to turn, he activated the Barbatos' backpack arm unit, and it extended forward before reconfigured into a claw-like appendage.

And when the Titan leapt at him, the claw seized it's head tightly, before crushing the thing, leaving behind a headless Titan and a bloodied claw.

As the Gundam unit wiped the floor with these Titans, the Survey Corps, junior and senior alike, stared at it in awe. The juniors were basically watching it tear apart the biggest threat mankind faced with ease. That probably showed those knuckleheads that fighting someone their size (or 3.8 metres taller) was not fun.

The seniors, on the other hand, observed how the thing moved. It seemed to combine elements of combat tactics taught to Trainee Corps and it's own move set. The combat tactics being the simpler punches, and personal tactics being it swinging the Mace. If this was the first time they saw this thing fight, they would be questioning how it moved so humanly. But according to Hanji, who told them every last thing she knew on the Gundam, it was outfitted with some sort of system which allowed it to fight incredibly human-ish.

"What are all of you staring at?" came a stern voice as the Barbatos grabbed a Titan's arm and tossed it at another. Turning, the soldiers saw Levi and Hanji, standing there. Levi simply watched the carnage Barbatos was dealing while Hanji watched with a smirk on her face and a hand on her hip.

"Augus told us to retreat, didn't he?" asked Levi, glaring at Dieter and Jurgen, who looked away in shame.

"Yes siree," replied Wisty, looking at him.

"Then what are you waiting for?" asked Levi, turning on his heel. "Come on."

Hanji simply smiled at Levi's straightforward talking, though it did wipe itself off when she remembered that he lost three team members. Sighing, the lady looked to the juniors. "You heard the man. Let's move!"

Nodding, the juniors, and some seniors, mounted onto their horses or climb onto wagons.

As he slammed the arm controller down, in turn making the Barbatos crush a Titan with the Wrench, Mika looked back and saw the Formation moving back to Trost. Huffing, Mika turned the Barbatos on it's heel (quite literally, considering how the 6th/5th Ground Type has a large heel) and crouched it down, powering up the Land Boosters and thrusters.

Before he launched, Mika detected a 4 metre coming at the Barbatos from behind (don't get any ideas now). He simply huffed and waited for a second. And as he suspected, the Titan did not acknowledge that it's head was directly in front of the Land Booster. So when the booster activated, the blue flames burned up the Titan as the Gundam blasted forward.

Ironically, that one Titan was the last one in the vicinity. Don't you love coincidences?

And Mika couldn't help but smile a tiny bit when he did that. He didn't know why, but killing these things was a little satisfying. It may have been because, as Trainees, the trainers said that the Titans were the greatest threat humanity has faced in many years. So taking them out so quickly may have given him a miniscule amount of ego. And by miniscule, I mean very, very tiny. Like atom sized, since Mika has almost _no_ ego.

Except getting two wives in the IBO anime (probably. I still dunno if Kudelia accepted or not, but most sources point to yes, so score one for the ultimate badass in Gundam). He has to be proud of _that_.

Anyways, now that the threat was dealt with, the Formation continued on their way back to Trost in a steady speed of 'as fast as possible to minimise the chance of encountering a Titan'. After all, that's the pace you wanna maintain when in Titan territory. It's the pace I'd keep at anyways. And after the fiasco which Jurgen and Dieter nearly made happen, Levi stuck behind the Formation, making sure they stayed there.

While the Barbatos hovered behind them, Mikasa glared daggers at Jurgen and Dieter. Scratch that. She glared several hundred Barbatos Wrench Maces at them, making the two shrink in fear.

To accompany the onslaught which Mikasa's glare gave them, several other Corps gave them the stink eye as well, namely Hanna, Whit, Bryon and Coral. The barrage of glares made them hang their heads in shame.

This was not going to be nice for them when they returned to Trost.

* * *

 **A couple of hours later**

"Eren…" whispered Mikasa, kneeling by Jaeger's unconscious body.

The boy has been out cold for quite some time, and Mikasa found herself worried, as usual. And when Eren started saying stuff from five years ago, before the Fall of Shiganshina and Maria, she raised her voice, and was almost yelling by then.

"Eren!" she proclaimed, and to her delight, the boy actually woke up. But his eyes were wide beyond belief (seriously, they are). At first, Mikasa didn't know why, but she then realized that he was staring at the Barbatos, who was boosting behind them at a reasonable speed.

"Eren, don't worry, you're alright…" assured Mikasa as Eren turned to him. "You're still alive."

At that, Eren tried sitting up, before groaning in pain.

"Don't sit up," said Mikasa, alarmed as she gently pushed the boy back down. "Rest up… "

"What…" he began. "What happened to the Female-Formed Titan…?"

"Killed," replied Mikasa.

"By Squad Levi?" asked Eren, sounding a little hopeful.

"By Gundam Barbatos," corrected Mikasa, frowning.

"Then… what happened to Squad Levi…?" asked Eren, apparently not remembering.

* * *

 **Play clip of Olou getting kicked by the Female Titan for comedic effect (I'm so sorry)**

* * *

"What of the plan…" continued Eren.

"It failed," replied Mikasa again. "You should lay down."

"What happened…" asked Eren, doing the opposite of laying down. "Did you save me?"

When she heard that, Mikasa adjusted the scarf around her neck. She wanted to say yes, but her conscious did not allow her to do so.

Opening her mouth, she was about to do so, until the Barbatos' mouth vents expelled some steam, making Eren and Mikasa look up at it.

"She did," came Mika's voice through the Barbatos' mic. "She saved you."

Looking at Mikasa, Eren had a slightly thankful look in his eyes, which was rare for him. And in a soft whisper, he said, "...thanks, Mikasa."

And Ackerman's cheeks flared up an immense amount when he said that. Turning her head a little, she glanced at the Barbatos, who's optics flashed a bright green.

"Y-you're welcome, Eren," she said, before looking to the right. "We're nearly back home."

"Ah…" replied Eren, looking down, a little ashamed that he was beaten by the Female Titan. But he was still thankful towards Mikasa, who saved him apparently. "Mikasa…?"

"Yes, Eren?"

"Could you tell me how the Female Titan died?"

* * *

 **So yes, this chapter marks the end of Mina, Nac, Mylius, Hanna and Mika's first expedition.**

 **Also, it's the June holidays in my area, so I might update more frequently, both this and Ironing out Remnant. Again, no promises since I have no official update schedule. But usually I do one Tekkatsu No Kyojin chapter and Ironing out Remnant chapter after that.**

 **I should say that the Barbatos Sixth Form's hip skirts are apparently called Land Boosters. And to add on, the Astaroth's hip skirts are called Side Binders, according to Gundam Breaker 3 anyways. Also, several of the Barbatos' armaments in this fic are based on concept art from the wiki page, namely the backpack arm. The feet unit 'claws' are based off the Exia R2's feet 'claws' it used when fighting the 0 Gundam (that's what it's called, right?).**

 **I probably should've placed that info in the prologue, but hey. It's here… so yeah.**

 **And since it's pretty much no secret that I'm going to get Tekkadan into the story soon, I should ask, would you prefer if I got Tekkadan to restore the Barbatos' to it's 6th form or just flat out turn it into the Barbatos Lupus?**

 **Also, Fortresshunter and Shidou Haruka have made some fantastic IBO crossovers, with Fortress crossing it over with Cross Ange and Shidou crossing it over with Infinite Stratos. Personally, I'm more into Fortress' since Cross Ange is something I kinda like, despite not watching it. And also because he thinks Mikazuki is the best Gundam pilot.**

 **Anyone who shares that mentality with me is someone I must love, so cheers to ya Fortress. I hope you get all the Favorites and Follows.**

 **Now, onto the replies.**

 **Ibitmytongue: I probably should have said this in the last chapter, but you didn't technically give any spoilers since you just said that Eren became more humane. That's not really a spoiler. I'd say that saying who the Armoured/Colossal Titan really are is more of a spoiler.**

 **And also, I should be thanking you for pointing that out. I'm one for accepting critisecim, so you pointing that out was a good thing. And if you didn't, someone else would have eventually. So, cheers mate.**

 **Lordhellfire913: yeah, I'm just as surprised as you**

 **Lightkirinhuruname: well, I'm kinda glad it was worth it. Before I edited it, I'd say it wasn't. But with the edit, I think its much better.**

 **Raigalcc: I'm glad pal. And it bugs me to not know if you're being sarcastic since you got the XD**

 **Anyways, I'll see you in C25.**

 **And for real, go check out Fortresshunter and Shidou Haruka. Especially Fortress. They put my story to shame.**

 **Baiiiiiii.**


	25. LUPUS VS SIXTH FORM!

**So this isn't much of a chapter, just a little… announcement? I guess so.**

 **So I made a poll or something asking if y'all would want Tekkadan to restore the Barbatos back to it's Sixth Form or just overhaul it to the Lupus.**

 **As a side note, if I do get Tekka-Squad to overhaul it, I will be adding in the weapons from the High Grade Iron Blooded Orphans; Iron Blooded Arms set, like the Variable Maces, Long Range Railgun, Twin Maces, arm mounted Rocket Launchers, and the New Forged Sword.**

 **And because of that, just expect no Titans remaining on the battlefield when this story is over with.**

 **If the Barbatos were to be restored to the 6th Form, the Wrench Mace will definitely make a reappearance and I will be making some modifications to the Frame itself. And the Ahab Reactor power will be boosted up, of course.**

 **And as a sider side note, in it's current state, the Barbatos can't achieve the 'unchained' mode which the Lupus or Rex used, since the Ahab Reactor is not powered enough to use it.**

 **So if the Barbatos is restored or overhauled, doesn't really matter honestly, the Ahab Reactors maximum output will be pushed to the absolute max for maximum Titan annihilation.**

 **So if you wanna choose, I got a poll (which may or may not work, since I only made one poll during my entire time here, discluding the one I just made :/, and it was to test how it worked).**

 **So yes, I guess I'll see y'all later?**

* * *

 **Oh wait! I should respond to some reviews first**

 **Aphem…**

 **Fortresshunter: :3 oh yes. Me make you blush**

 **Guest: I'm not really planning on making Tekkadan pull a base of operations within the Walls, in a sense. I'm leaning more towards the idea of them setting up in the Survey Corp HQ in Trost. And the characters which are joining Mika on this journey… I'm still deciding that shiz.**

 **Lightkirinhuruname: PS4. Yes, I own one. Username's StrykerJ05 or something.**

* * *

 **Also, I should point something out as some people seem to get this wrong.**

 **The Barbatos was not overhauled into the Lupus directly after the events of IBO S1.**

 **According to the wookipedia of IBO, the Barbatos retained its normal look in the two years before IBO S2, and probably had more forms in that time. It was only overhauled when it took too much damage for Tekkadan to fix on their own, so they sent it to Teiwaz for an upgrade.**

 **I'd say that happened about a month before S2 officially started.**

 **And to add on, the first time the Lupus was deployed was in IBO S2 Ep1 where Dawn Horizon tried to get Kudelia. Not before.**

 **That's all I really needa' say. See ya in C25, and have a good day.**


	26. SCORES!

**So this chapter is basically me weighing the scores between the Lupus and Sixth form.**

 **And if you haven't guessed, the Lupus won. The scores were**

 **Lupus; 10**

 **Sixth Form; 1 (damn)**

 **Lupus wins the overhaul competition! And if you did read the part in the last chapter where I talked about the Lupus, I'll repeat it here. The Barbatos Lupus will be using weapons from the _High Grade Iron Blooded Arms_ sets, because good weapon ideas must NOT be wasted!**

 **So yes, expect the Long Range Rifle (option set 7), New Forged Sword (the extra from the HG Mobile Armour Hashmal) and the Variable Maces (option set 8) to make some appearances. Though the Sword Mace and 200mm rifles will still be the weapons which it uses most.**

 **So yea. Hope ya'll look forward to the Lupus bringing down Titans... after the Coup Da Taut Arc.**

 **ONTO THE REPLIES**

* * *

 **raigalcc: well, I did establish a 'stargate' system, where Mcgillis tried to emulate the thing which brought the Barbatos here (two Ahab reactors and one unstable Ahab Reactor). It's weird science, I know, but Ahab Reactor's aren't really explored too much in the show, so I decided to try and add on to it. Didn't go too well, if you ask me. I may or may not have ruined how people see Ahab Reactors**

 **HelpSomeone: first off, nice name. Secondly, yes, it does look like a king. And third, I'm glad that ya like how I'm including stuff from the HG-IBA sets. To me, the Iron Blooded Arms stuff need more love. I mean, so much weaponry are unused, and most of the weapons look badass, like the Variable Maces or New Forged Sword.**

 **Tuka Luna Marceau: while that would be interesting, I'm gonna have to say no. Mainly because I don't think it's possible. In the story, Alaya Vijnana systems are organic implants directly linked to the spine. They're put in a young kid/man so that it can grow with them. So by now, Mika's Alaya system could be fused into his spine. And if you try and remove the spine... yeah.**

 **Gundam-kiler: you predict the future**

 **Darkstar01FTW: thanks a bunch mate. And there is one more Gundam X AoT/SnK story, but it ain't continued yet. Also, I gotta admit, that line did feel kinda out of place. I didn't really think of it too much when writing that chapter since I was still new to writing. But now I'll try to avoid that now. Though I am keeping that 'wrong franchise' line just for some giggles.**

 **Fortresshunter: I may do so one day. No promises since I'm very forgetful. (Also I think I know how to use Docx now)**

 **mrkiller5889: I think it's more of a sword-mace combo**

* * *

 **Also, Fortresshunter gave me a shoutout :D. I'll just shout him back.**

 **Go follow Fortresshunter's story, _The Iron Blooded Revolutionary_. Trust me, you'll enjoy it more than this crud. I mean, it has the approval of the _CasualFictionWriter23_. Any story with his approval is bound to be perfect. And this story doesn't have his approval, so don't read this and get your ass to his story.**

 **Also, my mate bladewolfzic wrote an IBO X RWBY story. Go check it out if you have the time.**

 **Anyways that just about does it. See ya in chapter 26, soon.**

 **P.P.S: when chapter 26 is eventually posted, this update chapter will become the intro/outro of the chapter**


	27. Motherly Love

**Well I'm back from wherever the heck I was. Let's just cut to the chase and get the story on.**

 **The reason why I was gone is down at the outro.**

 **Also, Mika will be** _ **VERY**_ **OOC in this chapter. It's basically interaction between Ms Carolina, Mika and Hanji. And when you're gonna make a hardcore orphan talk to someone who acted as his adopted mother for about five years, it'll probably make the orphan seem OOC. But just in case, I'll get my riot shield out.**

 **Oh, and I edited almost all the previous chapters. So if ya want, you can go read them… you probably should. A lot changed.**

* * *

 **Trost, Carolina household**

Stepping out of her house, a Miss Carolina looked about, feeling on edge since the breach. Though she was less wary than most, who decided to leave the place for Karanese, Miss Carolina and Mina's old home district. Don't ask where the father went. Even I dunno.

It was sometime around the afternoon, perhaps at four or two P.M? It was probably the former. The woman woke up about three hours after the Barbatos departed, and she was a little sad that she couldn't see her daughter before she went for her first expedition.

Still, while she was proud, she was, rightfully, afraid for her daughter's safety, seeing as Corps, especially juniors, had a high death rate. Hell, she was even worried about Annie, who she pretty much considered her daughter at this point, and Nac, who was technically not her son, but she did like the child.

But she did wonder where a certain boy went off to, the boy called Mikazuki Augus. Like Mina, Ms Carolina has developed feelings towards the cold boy. BUT HOLD UP. SHE AIN'T NO PEDOPHILE SO PUT THAT PITCHFORK DOWN.

By feelings, I meant motherly feelings. I mean, the kid was an orphan, and acted pretty much like Annie. And like Annie, his hard shell eventually broke, a little, and the boy became a likable person.

And like Annie, Ms Carolina viewed Mika more as her son than a stranger. Though it would lead to some… awkward moments where people thought she had four kids… well three if I'm honest. They knew Nac was Ms Tias' kid.

Anyways, moving away from that topic, Ms Carolina felt a little antsy whenever she thought about Mika, mainly because she hasn't heard from him in a long time. After the Trost fiasco, the Garrison sent a report to her which stated that three of the four were still alive, Mina, Nac and Annie. But they left Mika's fate ambiguous, which didn't sit well with Ms Carolina.

Suddenly, a loud noise was heard, followed by a slight shake in the Wall of Trost, prompting many onlookers to stare at it in fear. I mean, after a Colossal Titan broke down your wall, you'd have all right to be fearful of another Titan breach. That's probably why nearly half of Trost's inhabitants left to live in Rose, if we're being honest.

The noise slowly faded, and the Wall stopped shaking an instant after it started, causing the remaining residents of Trost to calm down. Though those who still resided in the East sector did feel the ground shake, and an odd figure which leapt over the walls.

But they dismissed that notion, thinking they were seeing stuff or just paranoid.

* * *

 **East sector**

"Alright… lower it down… slowly! We won't want to knock any trees down, ya know?"

Huffing, Mikazuki pushed the button for the built in mic and replied with an "Ah.".

After all, it was really the only way he could reply to Hanji.

Now, if you're wondering, before the Survey Corps got to Karanese, Hanji, plus a small group of Corps, were to escort the Barbatos towards Trost as they were keeping him there at the moment.

On their way towards Trost, Corps took some precautions, which was improvised, before they got the Barbatos in. The original plan was to return back to the Walls when the sun fell, probably at seven P.M or something, but when their plans went a little askew, they decided to improvise.

When they got up to the Wall, Hanji sent Lura and a few others up the Wall to tell the Garrison who were stationed at the Barbatos' holding area, which was an apparently unappealing job as only a group of ten Garrison signed up for the job, including Flex, to clear the people around the East wing of Trost.

They did that job pretty well. I mean, it only took fifteen minutes, in which the Barbatos/Mikazuki busied itself/himself by crushing Titans with the Wrench Mace or just stepping on them, which provided some amount of entertainment to the Garrison and Hanji who were atop the wall.

Anyhoo, enough trivial guff. Once the Barbatos was finally over and inside Trost, kneeling down at the designated place, Mika got the cockpit hatch lowered and detached himself from the Alaya Vijnana system. Once it was off, he massaged his sore wrists which held onto the arm controllers for quite some time.

I mean, it was nice to pilot the Gundam again, but he hasn't used it for much more than eight hours before. Or in the case of the Trost arc, about three days straight.

After he massaged his wrists and shook them, with the bracelet Atra made for him wobbling on his right hand as he did, Mika looked up and saw Hanji kneeling by the chest unit with her arm extended out to help him out.

Deciding to at least be somewhat polite to her, Mika grabbed her hand and allowed her to pull him out of the cockpit. Once the kid was out, Hanji gave smile and a thumbs up, which Mika somehow missed.

"Thanks," said Mika flatly as he brushed his pilot outfit.

"Don't mention it, Mika," said Hanji with a smile as she moved her huge glasses, which could be considered goggles if we think of it too hard, up to her forehead to examine Mika's current outfit with her actual eyes. "Nice outfit."

"Ah," replied Mika flatly as he rolled his shoulders. Though as he did, Hanji looked at that outfit (or just shirt) he wore. It looked pretty skin tight, coloured grey/brown/white and apparently had a port for the Alaya Vijnana on the back. Apparently, it was just a shirt, as he still wore the Corp pants, with his Tekkadan jacket acting as some sorta kilt.

"What now, Hanji?" asked Mika quite suddenly, looking at her. "The mission is over. What do we do?"

"Well, we're gonna head to the HQ in Rose for a debriefing," replied Hanji, pointing a finger up, making Mika nod.

"You go on ahead," he said, jumping off the Barbatos' chest unit. "I'll catch up later."

"Hold on, kid!" came Lura's voice, though several other Corps and Garrison looked at her as though she had a death with. "Where're you going?"

Mika didn't answer the woman, only untying the Tekkadan jacket around his waist and wearing it, prompting her to step forward to try and stop him, though Hanji, who leapt off the chest unit, stopped her assistant.

"Don't worry, Lura," she said, making the lady turn to her, bewildered. "I'll follow em'. You guys head back."

Grumbling but not retorting, Lura nodded and turned to the others who were holding fuel canisters and about to refuel the Gundam (something Mika knew how to do and told Hanji, who told pretty much everyone she knew). Once she was sure that Lura was alright with it, Hanji turned and jogged to keep up with Augus.

"So… where're you going?" she asked as she fell beside him.

"To see someone," replied Mika, and he said nothing more after that.

* * *

 **Rear East sector of Trost**

After a short while of walking to what seemed to be a random part of the East wing in Trost, Hanji tapped Mika on the shoulder, making him glare at her.

"Sooooo…" started Hanji, not seeming fazed as she's been on the receiving end of that death stare multiple times that she's gotten used to it. "Where're we going, again?"

"We're almost there," grumbled Mika, and before long they got to a small, quaint house. Mika stood in front of the door to the left, and Hanji to the right. Unlike most of the others, this one didn't seem to be damaged after the Trost fiasco. Probably a good thing about living closer to the inner walls.

"This place?" asked Hanji, tilting her head. "It doesn't seem like something which you'd want to visit."

As she said that, Mika knocked on the door. At first, there was no reply, making Mika presume that she was not home, but a stressed sounding voice called out. "C-Coming!"

And within a second, the door opened towards the left, blocking her field of view of Mika. "M-Major Hanji?" asked the woman, sounding alarmed as she opened the door fully, though still not spotting Mika. "What's wrong? Are Mina or Nac…"

Before she could even tear up, Hanji gave an "EEEEEEH?!" before she gave a "He was the one who knocked!" and pointed to Mika. And that seemed to calm the woman down.

In fact, it seemed to make her seem happy.

"M-Mikazuki?" she muttered with widened eyes, and the stressful look in them disappeared, a little.

"Ms Carolina," greeted Mika, looking a little happy himself as Ms Carolina smiled and let the two Survey Corps in. Once she shut the door, Ms Carolina bent down in front of Mikaand rested her palm against his cheek, touching the kid to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. And when she realized she wasn't, she gave Mika a tight hug.

"Oh… Mika…" she muttered happily as she embraced her 'son'. As she did, Hanji looked away and whistled awkwardly. Mika, on the other hand, didn't flinch too much. Though he was surprised that she reacted this way. The only people who did something like this was Atra or a Tekkadan member, though even that was rare.

While he still had no real knowledge on what to do when someone hugged him, he did remember Atra saying that he should hug back. So he did, rather awkwardly, place his left arm on her back and pat it.

After a few awkward seconds, Ms Carolina let go of Mika and gave him a tender smile which only a mother could master. It was something even Mika couldn't get used to seeing, even if he's seen it multiple times before he became a Trainee.

"Where were you… Mika?" asked Ms Carolina worriedly. "I was worried about you for the entire month since the Trost incident! Thinking that you were…"

As Ms Carolina began to choke on some tears, Mika simply stood there, and he didn't seem that phased. In reality, though, he had no knowledge on how to reply. So, Mika turned to Hanji, who scratched the back of her head and cleared her throat, making Ms Carolina look at her.

"Heh… it's a pretty long story," she admitted, smiling awkwardly. "It'll take some time to explain."

"I don't mind listening," admitted Ms Carolina, giving Hanji a smile. "But first, would you like some tea?"

"Sure!"

* * *

 **Wall Rose, Survey Corp HQ**

Trotting into the SC HQ of Rose, the Survey Corps quickly dismounted and went to the mess hall to retire (not that kind of retire. The retire which means 'rest') for the rest of the day.

Among those who stayed outside were our three Survey Corp buddies, Krista, Ymir (who was here out of obligation), Hanna, Sys, Levi and Coral, who helped with the bodies of their fallen comrades or the injured ones. Carefully, they hauled the corpses of their deceased friend's, the ones they could find anyways, off the carts and onto the floor.

Once they were done, Coral quickly counted how many casualties they suffered this time. He added it all up to at least forty death's, but it was a rough estimate as there were probably more whose corpses could not be recovered… because… ya know… Titans eat em.

"I have to thank the kid," said Levi as he overlooked the bodies of their friends and peers. Beside him, Sys looked at him. "If he weren't here, the casualties would have been a lot more."

"Sí," agreed Sys. "If Augus was not there, the Titán Femenino Formado would have caused more damage to the formation. The Guardia trasera would have been wiped out completely, and I am sure that many other soldiers would have perished when it gave it's death scream."

Levi only nodded in agreement. But he was also slightly thankful for one thing. Turning to the side, he spotted Petra, still on a cart and unconscious. At the very least, one of his teammates survived. Though he didn't exactly know if Petra's survival was pure coincidence or something Mika/the Barbatos did.

Little did he know that Petra's survival was indirectly caused by Mika. ( **wink wink nudge nudge** ).

Anyways, over by the side, both Mylius and Hanna stood in front of a Survey Corp. Hanna and Mylius were rightfully unnerved by the sight of so many dead bodies, but Hanna seemed to take it better than Mylius did.

And that made Mylius wonder. Back before the Trost incident, Hanna would look like she was about to vomit whenever she saw a corpse. But not, she seemed to be almost used to it. As a matter of fact, she seemed to act much colder towards other people since the Trost Arc. Friends, family, she seemed to act the same to them. Cold and scornful. Something like Mika, but more forced than anything.

It really bothered Mylius for an unknown reason. While he wasn't the overwhelmingly friendly type, that was Nac's role in the story, he still enjoyed friends, even if some (Mika and Annie) did sometimes make him shiver.

So, taking in a deep breath, the blonde decided to ask Hanna a question.

"Hanna?" said Mylius softly, making the girl beside him turn to him.

"What is it, Mylius?" replied Hanna, her voice in that cold tone, but not as extreme as usual. Though it was enough to make Mylius shiver a tad.

"I was wondering about your recent…" started Mylius, before stopping himself to find the proper word to describe it. "Mood…"

"What of it?" asked Hanna, seeming a little defensive.

"Recently, you've been acting a little colder towards… everyone," said Mylius. "Friends, family… you never act that way. Why now?"

Looking away from Mylius, Hanna glared down at the bodies they were standing over, clenching her fists and gritting her teeth. The blonde seemed to take notice, as he scooched an inch away from her. But thankfully, she didn't punch the poor kid. Instead, she sighed and looked at him, her eyes not looking as angry as before.

"It's nothing, Mai," assured Hanna, her tone sounding kinder. "Just… a phase."

"If you say so…" muttered Mylius before turning back to the bodies. "Let's get these bodies to their families… they deserve to at least have them."

"Aye."

While the two went to try and identify the bodies of the fallen Corps, Nac and Mina, alongside Coral, Krista and Ymir, knelt by the bodies of the Special Operations Squad.

Carefully, Coral pulled the cloth which was wrapped around one of their bodies and saw that it was Eld. Grimacing, the senior managed an anguished huff.

"Me and the guy used to be in the Trainee camps together…" grumbled Coral. "Could you believe that?"

"I can," said Nac as he knelt next to another bodybag. Pulling it open, he saw that it was Gunther. The man's skin was a tad paler than the last time Nac saw him, probably something to do with the blood not flowing or something. His eyes were still open, staring at nothing, prompting Nac to gently close them. "What I can't believe is that they're actually dead…"

"Neither can I," agreed Krista as she knelt next to Nac, looking at Gunther's unmoving face sadly. "But people will always die on these Expeditions… right?" she asked, and Nac flinched when he saw tears flowing out of the little girl's eyes. "They always die… hoping their deaths mean something… that humanity will benefit from it… but instead we keep moving back instead of forward…"

And Nac could agree with that statement, though he tried to deny it. The Survey Corps were, essentially, born to fight and die, and, in a way, the were sacrificed for one huge lie. And if he were honest to himself, he wasn't sure if they doing anything, if they were really 'heroes' who were fighting for humanity's freedom, or just simple propaganda used by the higher ups to give the people false hope, hope for a life outside the Walls.

If he were honest with himself, false hope was one of the worst things out there. It made people hope for something, and when they realized they kept all that hope for a lost cause, it would most likely shatter their sprites, making them not dare to hope for anything after that.

At least, that was how he thought about it. Nac (and Stryker) was always the type to overthink stuff.

"Stop traumatizing Krista," came a scolding voice behind Nac. Turning, the two saw Ymir standing over them, arms crossed and a scowl on her face which seemed to deepen when she saw Krista's watery eyes.

Blinking in mild confusion, Nac looked at Krista with the comedic white, wide eyes which every comedic anime seem to use. It took him a second to realize that Ymir was trying to make a joke, which came out unintentionally scolding.

After a couple of seconds, Ymir scratched the back of her head and sighed. "That was me trying to lighten the mood… guess it didn't work."

"Yeah, guess it didn't," replied Nac, standing up with Krista, and the boy pretty much towered over Ymir, at about a head and a half over her, though Ymir didn't really care. After all, Bertolt was much… _MUCH_ larger (if you know what I mean). "What are we gonna do about them…"

"What do you mean?" asked Krista, rubbing her eye as she looked up at Nac. Looked _waaaaay_ up as Nac was about three Krista heads (minus the hair of course) over her.

"Survey Corps always try and return the bodies of the deceased to their family," replied Nac, looking at the remains of the S.O.S sadly. "Returning Eld to Mrs Jinn in the condition he is currently in… it just seems… wrong."

"So, what do you suggest we do then?" asked Ymir, crossing her arms.

"I don't know," replied Nac, rubbing his chin. "I mean, I have an idea… but it'll take too long."

"Spill it, Tias," grumbled Ymir. When Nac was about to retort, Ymir cut him off. "What's worse, Nac? Letting their family see him like this, or take some time to fix it and make them at least a little bit happy?"

Looking down, Nac nodded a little. "I guess the latter is better. But I'll need someone's help…"

"Who?" asked Krista as Nac turned to Mina.

"Mina's mother."

* * *

 **Meanwhile**

"And that's everything you really need to know about Mika!" finished Hanji, smiling as she ended the talk on where Mika was. Once she was done, the woman she was talking too nodded politely and held a cup of tea in her hands, slowly digesting all the things Hanji poured into her head.

As she did, Hanji eventually noticed how long she took to explain it all. It was about… what? Five P.M? She basically kept yapping about Mika/the Barbatos for three/two point something hours. Apparently Mika got a little sleepy, or just bored, as he was now asleep, his head resting on Ms Carolina's lap and his jacket acting as a blanket.

And Hanji did admittedly find it adorable, especially how Ms Carolina stroked his hair. It made her forget that he was a child soldier, or that he was a pilot.

"Did I go on for too long?" she asked sheepishly as she scratched the edge of her lip.

"Of course not," replied Ms Carolina as she stroked Mika's hair. "But I have many questions…"

"Go on and ask!" said Hanji with a smile, remembering all the stuff she told Ms Carolina.

The first thing she told the lady was that her daughter (Mina) and her friend (Nac) were still alive, which relieved the tension she had in her. At that point, Mika was still awake.

After that, she told him about Mika's history. Though she did tone it down a lot, she did get the point of Mika being a Child Soldier, even before the Trainee days, which seemed to make Ms Carolina look at her adopted kid a little differently, though not as much as when Hanji told her about his connection with the Gundam Barbatos.

At first, Ms Carolina didn't believe the woman when she said that Mika was a pilot. But she did eventually come to believe her when Hanji asked if she's seen what was on Mika's back. The mother (of three) shook her head, and Hanji requested Mika to show her the system.

And Ms Carolina was admittedly freaked out when she saw the Alaya Vijnana system, and realized that was why Mika had the silver dome on his back 24/7. And if she wasn't convinced, Mika pretty much outright told her that he piloted the thing. Hanji even suggested they go and check it out someday.

After they convinced Ms Carolina on that, Mika pretty much lost interest and fell asleep, and that was the part when Hanji spoke about the Struggle for Trost and Operation; Clean up. Halfway through, Ms Carolina had to refill their cups of tea.

"Firstly…" started the lady, looking at Mika. "Is he really a soldier… the real deal?"

"Yep," said Hanji, nodding. "He's killed people, multiple times."

"I… I see," replied MS Carolina, looking a little uneasy. But she shook it off. "And he's from another… world. One which has no Titans but is ran by a Government… called Gjallarhorn?"

"Aye, it is," replied Hanji, giving a thumbs up. "Stuff isn't easy for Mika, before and after he got here."

Nodding, Ms Carolina looked down at Augus wistfully. But Hanji went on. "But still… I think Mika has acted… how'll you say it… more friendly after he met Annie, Mina an Nac."

"How so?" asked Ms Carolina.

"Well, for one, the way he described himself when he told me about his past makes me presume he was never the sociable type," explained Hanji. "He only spoke of a few people (Atra, Orga, Takaki, Yamagi, Ride) fondly. But in more recent times, I've seen him speak to your kid, Annie and Nac like they were close… so in a way, I think they cracked his shell."

"I can't say I'm not surprised," admitted Ms Carolina. "Mika's, in a way, like Annie. He never spoke to Nac too much when he first came, like Annie. And like Annie, he eventually opened up to them and made some friends."

"Guess so," said Hanji, smiling. "He's definitely an interesting kid."

"Most definitely," agreed Ms Carolina, since she knew that even before she knew about the Barbatos or the Trainee days.

Such as washing the dishes

* * *

" _Ms Carolina?" came Mika's voice, making the woman he was calling for to look at where he was, and widen her eyes when she saw that the sink was overflowed. "How do you fix this?"_

* * *

Hanging the clothes

* * *

 _Outside at the top of the Carolina household, Mika stared curiously at the clothes line. According to Annie, he was supposed to hang the washed clothes there. But he didn't know how. Pulling out his recently washed jacket, he blank for a moment before attempting to hang it up, only for it to fall off the clothesline._

 _And behind him, Nac and Ms Carolina held in their giggles._

* * *

Or grabbing firewood, which he was oddly good at.

* * *

 _Brisk walking to the door after it was knocked, Ms Carolina quickly opened it and saw Mina with a 'backpack' of sticks. Looking around, she asked where Mika was, before Mina stepped aside to show Mika with a backpack filled to the brim with sticks. If that wasn't enough, he had two other backpacks, which belonged to Annie and Nac, on his arms which were also filled with sticks for the fire._

 _Once Ms Carolina got over it, she let them put the firewood into the container. As they did, Annie and Nac walked over to have a look._

" _So that's where our backpacks went to…' muttered Nac._

* * *

"But he's still a good boy," she added, with a kind smile. Opening her mouth, Hanji was about to agree, but that was when the door was knocked. Blinking, Ms Carolina was about to open it, though Hanji went up to help, though Ms Carolina did still (carefully) push Mika's head off her lap and stand up.

And she got a surprise when she saw who was there.

"Nac? Mina? Krista? Ymir?" she questioned, sounding a little baffled. Hell, even the four of them seemed baffled as well.

"Hanji?!" proclaimed Mina. "Why are you in _my_ home?"

"Hey, don't look at me," said Hanji, raising her hands up innocently as she stepped to the side. "He was the one who led me here."

And the group widened their eyes a tad when they saw Mika, asleep on the couch they owned. As for her mother, she simply smile as she saw her little girl.

"Welcome home, Mina," said Ms Carolina, smiling before Mina gave her a flying hug.

"Why're you kids here, anyways?" asked Hanji.

"We should be asking you that, Hanji," retorted Ymir, looking at her mockingly. "You missed the debriefing."

"Well, I can't really say no to Mika, ya know?" replied Hanji, half smiling. Though as Ymir sighed and shook her head, Krista made her way to where Mika laid at.

Looking at the napping boy, Krista pretty much forgot about the fact that he was a Gundam pilot, or that he was a Child Soldier. The kid looked so peaceful as he snored softly that he looked like a normal child.

"Oi, Krista," called out Ymir, snapping the (very) short girl out of that short trance and turn back. Quickly, she got up and jogged towards her (girl)friend(/wife).

"You still haven't answered my question, Ymir," repeated Hanji, crossing her arms.

"Well, in short, we need Ms Carolina's help on something," replied Ymir, scratching the back of her head.

"What do you need, Ymir?" asked Ms Carolina, smiling sweetly at her.

"Well… erm…" was her reply as Ymir eyeballed Nac and the cart they pulled here. Sighing, Nac cleared his throat and ndded.

"Well, during the recent expedition, we lost a lot of allies," said Nac. "And we have some important people dead... but we want to give their families their bodies. But they're horribly mangled... and one's that's in half… and we thought that you know how to sew and patch up wounds…"

When he said that, Ms Carolina nodded grimly. "I see…"

"I mean, you don't have to!" said Nac quickly. "If blood is too much…"

"A little blood isn't too bad for me, Nac," said Ms Carolina as she looked out of the door. "Don't forget who patched your wounds when you were younger, Nac."

And Nac's cheeks reddened with insult when she said that.

"Yeah… I can't forget that," admitted Nac, scratching his head.

"Now, go wake Mika," directed Ms Carolina, rolling her sleeves up. "And bring the body. Oh, and Nac? Please get me my sewing kit."

* * *

 **WOOOOOOO… you guys hate this one, don't ya? Can't blame ya. This seems to be a very OOC Mika chapter…**

 **But hey, it's up so… maybe I'll edit it? Maybe? I dunno. P.S, I edited this the day after I wrote it.**

 **So before I go on, I'll just tell you why I was gone. The main reason was because I went back to edit this shit. I basically rewrote chapters 2-17 (primarily C8-17 if I'm honest).**

 **Other stuff included school… which I don't wanna talk about. And my birthday. The 11th of July and stuff. Not that you'd care anyhoo. I mean, the people in school didn't care. I don't know about you :v**

 **But I can't really complain when I got some good Gunpla. Bandai makes soome good shit. Aside from the HG Tristan… let's not speak of that…**

 **Onto replies, where there's just one… aphem…**

 **Ultimablast3: well, funny thing. I am intending on putting the Flauros into this story. Gusion will definitely make an appearance. As for Vual, Astaroth or the Dantalion… those are still up for debate. And if you're wondering, yes I did read your entire review.**

 **Not much else to say. Go follow/favorite** _ **Iron Blooded Revolutionary**_ **by** _ **FortressHunter**_ **cuz he's better than me.**

 **I think that's all, so catch ya later**


	28. Last chapter, at least here

**Dear beloved reader**

 **If you read (pronounced re-hd) the title, you'll know what's up with this. I'm taking this story down for revisions.**

 **Why? Well, it's simple. I've been editing this story many times. Too many. And every edit makes the story harder to understand, as least from what I know. Also, I really don't like how this story is structured. That's the easy answer.**

 **The other reason is that I'm just not satisfied with what I wrote... and I'm gonna keep trying to rewrite this until I'm satisfied.**

 **(Though with that said, I'm keeping this story up for a few days)**

 **Anyways, I'll see you whenever I manage to get Tekketsu No Kyojin Ver 2 gets up... catch ya later**


End file.
